The Last Month
by Miss Starfire
Summary: The world knows the true identities of Team Iron Man, and while the knowledge allows the heroes to fight crime without remorse, there are always two sides to every coin. Follow Pepper and Tony as they try to make the best out of their new romance while attempting to survive their last month in high school. WARNING: Pure, unadulterated, diabetic coma-inducing, Pepperony fluff.
1. Prologue

**A/N:** I'm having so much fun writing for IMAA that I've decided to write a new story even though I'm trying to take a break from FF. It's very difficult to do, I gotta tell you, but if this story doesn't catch anyone's interest, I'll just leave it as it is. Anyway, I hope you like this one. If you do, please review to let me know and then stop by my other IMAA story titled _Broken_.

**Ownership Disclaimer:** Don't own anything other than my laptop and my crazy mind. Don't sue me.

**Standard Disclaimer for My Stories:** My stories are graphic, angsty, frustrating, filled with cliffhangers, drama and foul language. Read at your own risk – medical issues and subsequent bills are not covered by yours truly ;) If you don't like, please don't read. I appreciate reviews and constructive feedback but if you cannot stand the plot, save yourself and me some time and walk away. You don't have to love all IM/IMAA stories :)

**Screen Optimization:** Remember that most of my stories, including this one, are written for the **half-screen** option here at FF. You'll see fewer line/paragraph breaks if you set the screen to half-screen.

**Summary:** Set after the end of Season 2. The world knows the true identities of Team Iron Man, and while the knowledge allows the heroes to fight crime without remorse, there are always two sides to every coin. Follow Pepper and Tony as they try to make the best out of their new romance while attempting to survive their last month in high school.

* * *

**The Last Month**

**Prologue**

"I guess there's nothing else here for us to do, son." Howard Stark stared around him as the small crowd that had gathered to witness the fight against the Makluan army was beginning to grow in size after the revelation of the true identities of the Iron Man team. "I think it's best if we call it a day. What do you think?"

Tony followed the path his father's eyes were taking and realized what he was trying to say to him in code. Truth was that the aliens were gone and so was Gene, and the young inventor knew that Nick Fury and his team would take care of clean-up duty for them. "I guess you're right, Dad. Time to go home."

Tony eyed the ground around him until he found his helmet and put it on. "Don't forget to stop by the armory to drop off the suits for repair," he told his teammates. Luckily for the youngsters, the Makluan army had decided to attack on a Friday. Tony could already feel his muscles demanding some rest, and as opposed to all the other times he had finished fighting crime in the dead of the night, he was going to do just that: sleep.

"We'll be there, Tony." War Machine responded before turning to face his mother. "Mom, I'll meet you at home. I have to go take this off."

"Alright, James, but don't be late. We have some talking to do."

If War Machine could ever look disappointed and intimidated, the moment was now. "Yes, mom. Coming, Pepper?"

"Right behind you!" The redhead said as her faceplate closed. "I'll be home in an hour, Dad."

"Alright, sweetheart, but I want you to come straight home."

"I will. See ya!" Her words were trailed by the purple of her flight stabilizers as she took to the skies. War Machine, Iron Man and Howard Stark – who was still suited up in the Space Armor – followed shortly after her. The fly back to the Makluan Temple was mostly silent, each teenager caught in their own thoughts regarding what coming out as heroes meant for their lives.

After ten minutes of nonstop supersonic flight time, the four armored individuals landed inside the armory. Tony was the first one to remove his suit thanks to the advantage the Extremis gave him. "Phew! That could've gone worse!"

"Tell me about it. We could've lost!" Rhodey jested as he slowly began coming out of his suit. "At least you don't have to hear it from my mom today. She's gonna ground me for life."

Tony waved his hand dismissively toward his worrisome friend as he walked toward the computer to begin running a damage-detecting scan on the suits. The software had been designed to make a comprehensive list of repairs the suits would need after a major fight, and it would then order them from critical to low-priority. Designing the code for the program had been long and difficult due to different specs for each suit, but the payoff of saving time when repairing the armors was priceless to the inventor.

"Yeah, Rhodey. I think from all three of us, you have it the worst. My Dad seemed pretty cool with the whole Rescue thing," the redhead said as she too took off her suit of armor. "Your War Machine days may be over," she teased her friend, earning her a loud groan from him.

"I don't know about you, kids, but this old man is tired." Howard said as he made sure the suit was completely off his body. "I'm gonna take off now. Tony?" he turned to his son. "Any chance you will come back home soon?"

"Yeah," Tony said as he typed something on his computer. "I'm tired, too. I'll just make sure the software is running on all four suits and I'll see you at home."

"Very well. You did a great job, all of you, but please take the weekend to be kids, alright? Let the police do their job for at least a couple of days."

"We will, Dad."

"Alright. See you at home."

Once the three teenagers were left to themselves, each one began placing their banged up suit where it belonged so that Tony could repair it later. As Tony began running diagnostics on each suit, Rhodey and Pepper took upon the task of making sure the Space suit was in place as well. Once their job was done, the two of them walked to where Tony stood, still typing furiously on the keyboard.

"I'm done, man. You coming?"

"Yes," Tony said as he keyed in the last code he needed to call it a night. "Let's go. I have a date with my bed."

"Don't we all?" Rhodey offered as all three of them walked to the back of the temple to jump in Rhodey's car. Luckily for him, the insurance company had replaced his car with a new one, so he did not have to rely on public transportation anymore.

"You know, I oughta get a car myself," Tony said as he got in the copilot seat and Pepper lay on the back seat. "Might as well get one now since I'll be going to college soon."

"College? Ugh! Don't remind me I haven't sent my applications yet. I'm still hoping S.H.I.E.L.D. adopts me," Pepper groaned while Rhodey started up the engine and began driving out of the temple. "You'd think being a member of Team Iron Man and helping save the world would get my foot in the door, but noooo!"

Tony chuckled and looked back over to her with a flirty smile on his face. "C'mon, Pep. Why does S.H.I.E.L.D. have that Team Iron Man doesn't?"

"Jetpacks?" She offered but it was difficult to keep a straight face when he smiled at her like that. She felt the blood rush to her face as she remembered the kiss Tony had given her just a short while ago, so she looked away and pretended to rest her eyes. "Drop me off first, Rhodey, please."

"Already on my way, Pepper."

"Thanks," she sighed as she got comfortable in the back on the seat. Only a brief moment had passed when her phone went off and she turned on the speaker feature without even having to open her eyes. "Hello."

_"Pepper?"_ The frantic voice made her eyes snap open and sit up on the seat.

"Happy?" The mention of the name of the current unofficial-official boyfriend of Pepper Potts did not sit well with the young genius, and Rhodey had to bite his lip to keep himself from snickering at the face Tony was making as he tried to focus on anything except the conversation behind him.

_"Oh, Pepper! I'm so glad you're alright! I saw you in the news and…wow! You just went up, like, ten notches in my book of awesomeness! I mean, I thought you were already cool and all, but…you're also a superhero? That tops it all!"_

"Oh, Happy," she laughed nervously. "It's not that big of a deal."

_"It IS! I'm dating a gorgeous superhero! I'm the luckiest man alive!"_

Pepper bit her lip and her eyes flew to the back of Tony's head. The billionaire had his arms crossed on his chest, and his face stared out the window in an effort to pretend he was not listening in to every word that was being said.

"Why don't we talk about that later, Happy? I'm heading home and my dad is waiting for me."

_"Oh, sure! Man, why didn't I think about it? You must be tired! Well, I just wanted to make sure you were OK, Pepper. Are we still on for tomorrow? Remember, Belly Buster Burgers, my treat."_

"Oh," Pepper closed her eyes. "Yeah, I…I kinda forgot about it."

_"Oh, it's OK. I can pick them up and stop by your place. Is that better?"_

"Uhm, Happy…I…it's too much trouble…"

_"Not at all! Anything for my girlfriend! Well, I'll let you go, Pep. See you tomorrow, your place."_

"Right, uhm…bye."

The silence and tension in the vehicle after the phone call ended was suffocating, and when Rhodey stopped in front of Pepper's apartment, she had all but ran out at the speed of light. Rhodey watched in awe as Pepper disappeared behind the entrance door to the building before his eyes landed on his friend. "Aren't you gonna do anything about it?"

"Just drive," Tony responded, wondering if he really had a chance with his friend, Pepper Potts.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The next morning found the young inventor deep in repair work in his lab. After a rather restless night, he had decided he needed to clear his mind from the thoughts that had kept him tossing and turning during the night. Even as tired as he physically was after fighting the Makluan army, his mental state overrode his need to sleep and had him thinking about a certain redhead instead.

As he checked off another repair from the list of issues with War Machine's armor, the door to the temple opened to reveal a well-rested James Rhodes. The youngster stretched his arms above his head and took slow steps toward his hard-at-work friend. "I thought you told your Dad you were going to take the weekend off, Tony."

Tony shrugged as he collected the necessary tools for the next repair. "I don't have anything else to do; might as well get this done in case we're needed again."

"What do you mean there's nothing else to do? You know, normal people go out and have fun on weekends. Some of them even…_rest_." He said the last word in a near whisper as if the relaying of information was a secret Tony was not supposed to know about.

"I thought we'd made it clear Tony Stark doesn't equal normal, Rhodey. 'sides, I have a lot of things on my mind."

Rhodey crossed his arms in front of his chest and arched a single eyebrow. "Things? I think you only have _one_ thing on your mind right now, and she's not coming to visit today, so why don't you go visit her instead."

Tony groaned as he grabbed a screwdriver. "She's busy today, remember? She has a date with Happy."

Rhodey's eyebrows shot to the sky, surprised that his usually clueless friend was not in denial that Pepper was the one thing in his thoughts. He typically denied any and all claims that he liked the redhead as more than just a friend, and even after witnessing the display between them after the battle was over, Rhodey was certain Tony's attitude toward denying whatever feelings he had, would not change.

"So? Is that it? You're just gonna give up?"

"There's nothing to give up, Rhodey. She obviously didn't take the offer." Tony threw the screwdriver back in the toolbox.

"What offer?"

"Ugh! You were there, right? Didn't you say it made you feel…what was the word? Queasy?"

"Are you talking about the kiss you gave Pepper on the CHEEK? And the millionth hug you guys have shared? That's what you're talking about? 'Cuz, yeah, I saw that kindergarten move."

"Kindergarten move? What the hell are you talking about?" Tony spat, finally putting down all his tools and redirecting his full attention toward Rhodes.

Rhodey rolled his eyes. "Tony, in case you haven't noticed, we're in high school –practically in college. Pepper will turn 18 in a couple of months. You're already 18. And, most importantly, Pepper is not Whitney."

"I know you're trying to make a point here, but I don't see it," Tony admitted with a shake of his head.

Rhodey sighed in exasperation. "You know, for a genius, you're rather dense when it comes to girls; to Pepper, especially."

"Are you trying to tell me that Pepper doesn't like me?"

"No, the complete opposite, actually."

"Then, what? I don't get it."

"Look, Tony. A kiss and a hug are all fine and dandy…when you're 12."

Tony eyed his friend with a questioning look as he tried to understand what he was being asked to comprehend. It was true that he did not have much experience with girls, even though he had dated Whitney for a few months, but he had not learned much out of it since he had spent half of the relationship ditching their dates to be Iron Man.

"So, you're saying that maybe Pepper didn't quite get what I meant to say with the gesture? That it was a little bit…vague."

"OK, so maybe you're not THAT clueless."

"I see," Tony said as he scratched the side of his head. "So, what do you think I should do to make it clear? Ask her to marry me? Because that's not gonna happen. We're too young for that."

"OK, so maybe you ARE that clueless."

"Can you stop speaking in code, please?"

Rhodey slapped his forehead with his hand. "Fine! OK! Think about it, Tony. Use that huge brain of yours –all of it, and think about this. You and Pepper have known each other for, how long?"

"2 years?"

"2 WHOLE years. And how many times have you made a pass at her?"

"Uhm, I…uh…" Tony rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh."

"Yup. So, you seriously expect her to just jump into your arms after one lousy kiss?"

"It wasn't lousy, and she _did_ jump into my arms," he defended himself.

"That's not the point. The point is that, like I said, Pepper is not Whitney. You're not just going to swoop in, give her flowers after not paying attention to her for two years, and then expect it's all going to suddenly be alright and perfect and different."

"Hn," Tony said as he walked up to his computer and pulled up a web browser screen. "I hear what you're saying but, what else am I supposed to do? I mean, we've been friends for so long. It's not like we need to get to know each other all over again, right? We're way past that stage."

"Of course not, you idiot! But that doesn't mean she doesn't deserve to be treated like any other girl you're trying to date."

"You mean: flowers, candy, movies, or…"

"Going to Belly Buster Burgers, picking up food for her, and taking it to her house."

Tony's shoulders fell. "I see. Well, there isn't much I can do right now. She's with Happy today."

"And she will be with Happy tomorrow and the next day, if you don't make it clear to her what you want."

Tony sighed. "You're right. I'll…I'll think of something."

"OK, you do that. Meanwhile, I'm gonna go back home. Oh, and Tony?"

"What is –" The young genius asked but his question was cut short when Rhodey grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pushed him toward the nearest wall, a menacing look on his face.

"Whoa, Rhodey! What gives?"

"Listen to me, Tony, and listen real well. Pepper is like a sister to me, and she may be a little bit loopy or whatever, but she's still my friend. You better not be using her or playing with her feelings, because if you are, I don't give a damn that you're Iron Man or that we've been friends since we were five. I'll shove the Bunker Buster up your rich boy's ass. Got that?"

"Rhodey, I'd never do that to Pepper. I really care about her."

"Well, you also really cared about Whitney, didn't you?"

"Not in the same way," Tony admitted.

"Well, think about that next time you assume she's at your beck and call." Rhodey let go of his shirt, and as soon as he did, his friendly face returned again. "Anyway, let me know what that mind of yours comes up with. Later!"

Tony stared at his apparently bipolar friend as he left the temple, leaving Tony to straighten out his shirt and think long and hard about what to do next.

xxxXXXxxx

"So, Pepper, where's your Ironette armor?" An overly joyful Happy Hogan asked his redheaded girlfriend. He had just arrived at her home with lunch for the both of them in his hands, and was now sitting on the couch in the living room watching TV as they replayed scenes of the events of the day before. "Is it in a hidden compartment? Do you have a special code for it? Does it come in green? Oh, it must look awesome in green!"

Pepper, on her part, was shoving French fries in her mouth as a way to keep her thoughts to herself. She had almost called Happy at least three times to cancel their date but every time she had chickened out, and she was now facing the consequences of it. While it was true that she and Happy had been dating for a few months now, and she had had fun times with him, the past few weeks they had hardly gone out at all mostly due to her duties as a member of Team Iron Man. In addition, her feelings for Tony had been growing stronger, in the past few weeks as well, but she had been having a difficult time ending it with Happy.

"You're so quiet, Pepper. Are you still tired from yesterday?"

Pepper smiled at Happy, completely unaware that she still had food all over her mouth, some pieces of which were stuck to her teeth. "Gno, Haupe! Em elrith!"

"What? You have food in your mouth.

Pepper grabbed the closest bottle of soda and chugged it down, chewing hard and fast until she washed down all the food. "Sorry. I said I'm not tired. Just still in shock, I guess."

"In shock? From the fight?"

"Yeah, from the fight," Pepper lied. "Look, Happy. I'm sorry I made you come all the way over here but I'm not feeling up to hanging out."

"Oh," Happy lowered his head in disappointment. "I-I see. I mean, it's alright. I understand. You probably have to do some superhero meeting or something like that, right?"

"Yeah, something like that," she lied again despite how much she hated lying to anyone, especially to poor Happy who had put up with her lies for such a long time. "It's just…it's been a crazy day, and it's turning into an even crazier weekend."

"Don't do that, Pepper. I can take a hint." He stood up from the couch. "Well, I'll see you Monday in school, then. Want to have lunch on the roof?"

"Uhm," Pepper panicked. "I kinda promised Rhodey I'd eat with him."

"Oh, you mean _War Machine_?" He asked, his tone of disappointment gone. "He's so bad ass! You think he'll let me borrow his suit? I mean, I do have experience handling the Iron Man robot, remember?"

"Oh, of course I remember, Happy. But, it's really up to Tony to make that call. He did design the suits, right?"

"Oh, you're right. Hey! Maybe you can ask him for me! Stark could never say no to you!"

"Me? But, but…"

"Yeah, that's perfect! Come on, Pepper! Please!"

"But, Happy, you know how long it took me to get my own suit out of Tony? And he tells me 'no'_ all_ the time."

"Really? I thought that since he seemed to really like you and all, he'd have a hard time denying you something."

"Like me?"

"Well, yeah. You guys have been friends forever, right? I didn't think he'd want to ruin that with you by not doing a favor for you."

"Ruin…our…friendship?"

"Yeah, that doesn't sound like Tony at all. He may be rich and all, but I can tell he cares for his friends."

"Right. Friends." Pepper sighed. "I…I'll see that I can do, Happy."

"You promise?"

"I promise," she gave him a fake smile.

"ALRIGHT, Potts! You rule!" Happy walked up to her and kissed her on the lips. Pepper froze on the spot and by the time her mind processed what had happened, Happy was already gone. She took her hand to her still tingling lips and sighed in disappointment that her first real kiss had not been with Tony Stark.

* * *

**A/N:** I think I'm going to keep these chapters short for the sake of convenience, and to make them easier to read. Thanks to everyone who took the time to review to let me know there is some interest in this story: this chapter was for you!


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Rhodey sat in a chair by a table, books and a laptop close by. He was holding his head with his hands, staring down at the notes he had just scribbled on a piece of paper. Even though he had just written it down, he had already forgotten why he had done so in the first place. Tony was sitting across from him, typing something up in his laptop that Rhodey just knew was not school related.

"Dude, I know you don't care about school, but I have homework to finish. Are you trying to get the weekend ruined for all of us? Why couldn't you just ask me whatever it is that you needed from me yesterday when I was here?" Rhodes demanded of his friend. A few hours ago he had received a text message from Tony, asking him to stop by the temple before the end of the day, claiming he needed to discuss something important with him regarding the suits. When Rhodey had reminded the genius the next day was a school day, Tony had said he could bring his books over with him, so he had.

"Because, Rhodey, I didn't have all the data I needed yesterday."

"What data? What are you working on, anyway?"

"I thought you'd never ask, but let's wait until Pepper gets here."

"Pepper's coming, too? You talked to her already?"

"No. Just sent her a text, like you."

"Oh, I see. Chickened out, didn't you?"

"I didn't chicken out! I just haven't thought about what to say to her just yet."

"Are you backing down?"

"Nope. Just need time to come up with something good, that's all."

"Just don't take too long, man. Otherwise you'll end up like the guys in those corny movies she makes us watch where they take forever to make up their minds and end up rushing into the wedding ceremony to stop it."

"Do you think that would work?"

"Ugh!"

"Hey, Rhodey! Hey, Tony! Sorry I'm late!" Pepper waved at them from the entrance of the lab and walked directly to where Rhodey sat.

"Hey, Pepper," Rhodey said as he squeezed her hand for a moment while she pulled a chair next to him, flipped it so that the back was facing her front, and sat on it resting her overlapping arms on the top edge of the chair.

"Hi, Pep," Tony said, disappointed that she had chosen to sit next to Rhodes and not him but keeping his discontent inside. "It's alright; you're not late. I'm just getting done with the specs."

"Specs for what?" She asked curiously.

"Your new armors."

"New armor? But, Tony, you just made mine, like, a few days ago. Why do I need a new one? You mean a spare one, right?"

"No. I was thinking about how after the battle you guys had to come here to drop off the suit and all, and how it might get more difficult to do so without giving out the location of the lab since everyone now knows who we are. So, using a similar design to the one I used for my backpack armor, I'm going to build you guys similar suits so you can take with you wherever you go."

"Are you serious?" Pepper grinned. "I can have my own backpack suit of armor?"

"Yup. Sounds like a good idea, right?"

"Are you kidding? That's awesome!" She clasped her hands together on her chest. "I can't wait for it!"

"Uh, Tony." Rhodey began. "That sounds cool and all, but what are you going to hide War Machine in for me to carry around? Am I gonna have to start riding a camel to carry my bag?"

"Of course not! I'm going to redesign your suit."

"Redesign, how?"

"Make it more lightweight."

"You mean downsize it."

"I'll have to if I want to fit in a backpack. That doesn't mean your other one won't be serviced or in use, but you need to have one around in case of an emergency."

"I guess you're right. So, what do you need us here for?"

"I've matched the specs to fit your current measurements, but I'd like to run a live calibration just to make sure they will fit."

"How are you going to do that? Should I've brought measuring tape?" Pepper joked.

"Nope. Something better," he said as he got up from his chair, walked up to Pepper and pulled her up from the chair by her hand. "Here, just stand here." He pointed to a mark of feet on the floor. "Don't move."

Pepper did as told and Tony took a step back. He then pulled up a small remote from his pants pocket and pressed a button. A moment later, a laser beam scanned Pepper's body and then a holographic backpack appeared behind her. After another pressed of a button from Tony's remote, the hologram began transforming itself and covered Pepper in a holographic version of her suit of armor, adjusting itself on Pepper's body until the calibration was complete.

"User adjustment completed. Saving new data under file: _Rescue_." The computer said and a second later the laser and holograms disappeared.

"That's it."

"That was so cool, Tony!"

Tony chuckled at Pepper's excitement. "Your turn, Rhodey."

James stood up from his chair as Pepper took a step back and stood next to Tony, both watching the computer repeat the same steps on Rhodey. Once the calibration finished, the computer announced it was saving the new information under War Machine's files.

"OK. Now that that's done, what else do you need from me?" Rhodey asked, walking back to his chair and closing his books.

"That was all. You can go back to your studying, nerd." Tony joked.

"In that case, I'm out. I just remembered I forgot the other half of my homework on the kitchen table. If my Mom sees it there, she'll reconsider grounding me again."

"Boo, Rhodey!" Pepper said as she ran up to him and hugged his arm with both of hers. "I thought we were going to hangout."

"Sorry, Pepper, no can do. Are you done with your homework, yet?"

"Puh-lease!" The redhead chuckled. "I finished my homework yesterday."

"Yesterday? I thought you had a date with Happy? Didn't last long?"

"Yeah, uhm…he…he left early." She looked away.

"Was that before or after you guys made out?" Rhodey asked purposefully to get a rise out of Tony who had been attentively listening to their conversation. His intention backfired, however, when Pepper's face became red and she gasped.

"How…how do _you_ know about that?" Pepper asked.

"W-what?" Rhodey asked.

The silence in the lab resembled the one that had fallen upon them in his car just a couple of days ago, but this time there was no running into the safety of her home for Pepper.

"I, uhm…I mean…uh..." She trailed.

After a few more seconds of silence, Rhodey cleared his throat and rapidly shoved his books inside his backpack. "Well, I think my job here is done. See you guys tomorrow. Bye!" He said as he ran out of the lab faster than Pepper had run out of his car the other day. After even more seconds of awkward quietness between them, Pepper exhaled loudly and turned around on her spot to face Tony.

"Making out, huh?" Tony began as he walked up to the desk and pretended to organize his tools. "Sounds you like guys are getting serious."

"We…we didn't make out…"

Tony looked up to her with the first hints of a smile on his face.

"We just kissed."

The smile turned into a frown.

"Well, _he_ kissed_ me_, actually."

"And you let him?"

"I…I didn't stop him."

"So you _did_ kiss, then. I mean since you didn't pull away." He stated in a matter-of-fact tone that Pepper did not like at all.

"I…it was so fast. I didn't see it coming." She tried to justify herself.

Tony scoffed. "Sure. That makes sense. You've been dating the guy for a long time now. I can definitely see how you didn't see it coming. Totally out of the blue, I'm sure. Ya-huh."

"Tony, it's not like that. Besides, why do you care?" Her voice began to rise, becoming upset by Tony's tone with her. "It's not like we…uhm…"

"We, what, Pepper?" He walked closer to her and placed his hands on hers. "We, what?"

Pepper looked up at him; her mouth suddenly went dry and her legs wobbled under her as she stared into his deep, blue eyes. He looked down at her with a look Pepper could not quite place as he spoke to her in a soft voice. "Pepper, I know what you were going to say to me before, during the battle. I just…I just wanted to be the one to say it first."

"Tony…I…"

_"Incoming call from Happy Hogan,"_ Pepper's phone said aloud, breaking the moment between them and making Tony groan.

"But, clearly, it doesn't matter what I have to say," Tony added as Pepper struggled to take out her phone from her bag to send the call to voicemail. By the time Pepper looked back to where Tony had been standing, he was gone.

xxxXXXxxx

"Watch it!"

"Sorry," Pepper mumbled for the nth time as she accidentally hit someone on her way down the hall at school, again. The boy did a double-take when he realized who he had hit, and his demeanor changed almost immediately.

"Oh, it's you! Iron Girl! Sorry, my bad. I didn't hurt you did I?" The boy asked in a sweet tone as he leaned down to stare at her downcast face. Pepper gave him –as she had given the other twenty people she had hit – a weak smile and a shake of her head before she continued her walk down the hall, completely oblivious of the stares she was getting from both boys and girls in the Tomorrow Academy. If she had been paying more attention, she would have begun realizing the impact the revelation of their secret identities was going to have in school.

She had woken up this morning dreading to return to real life as she had quickly figured out that her Rescue suit could not protect her from facing Tony today. After how their conversation had ended last night, she had been hitting herself in the head for not saying what she had wanted to say to him anyway. However, after the fourth hit on the head -and after having to cover the forehead bruise with a small bandage – she had realized it would have been wrong for her to tell Tony how she felt if she was still technically dating Happy.

_I have to break it up with Happy, first. _She knew that for Happy it was going to seem sudden to just end their relationship, especially after just having gone out on a date so recently, but Pepper also understood that it would be unfair to continue to string him along if her heart was no longer in it_. I'll just tell him the truth. He's Happy; he'll understand._

As she was about to round the corner, the sound of familiar voices having a conversation made her stop in her tracks. She took a step back to prevent her presence from being visible to her two best friends as they argued by Tony's locker, and pressed her back toward the wall as she listened in.

_"I'm telling you, man. You screwed it up. Didn't we have this conversation before? I told you what would happen if you weren't careful!"_

Pepper leaned closer to the edge of the wall, tuning out all other conversations that were taking place around her.

"I know, Rhodey, I know!" Tony slammed his locker shut. "You don't have to remind me. It's just…"

"It's just what? Just be honest with Pepper! Like I told you before, she's not Whitney."

"Yeah, I know, but…" Tony sighed, angry at himself for the way he had reacted last night when Pepper's phone had gone off. "For once, I really wish Pepper was Whitney right now."

The sound of falling books on the floor followed by the _"Are you alright?"_ voice coming from behind them made the two boys turn around to see their redheaded friend standing in shock. Her mouth was agape, and the books she had been holding in her arms were now on the floor, swiftly being picked up by a male student that had seen an opportunity to show off to the new heroine. The last words Tony had uttered repeated in his mind, and his eyes widened as he realized how it must have sounded to Pepper.

"Hey, Pepper, here are your books," the guy next to her said but when Pepper did not attempt to grab them, the boy continued to speak. "Or, I can carry them for you to class. Would you like that?"

But Pepper did not respond immediately, her eyes locked onto Tony's stunned ones. She finally regained her senses, looked away from Tony and closed her mouth. She then gave the confused boy next to her the brightest smile she could muster and nodded to him. "Yes, that'd be really nice of you. What's your name again?"

"Kevin," he said.

"Kevin," she repeated with a tilt of her head. "Don't we have first period together?"

"Yeah, English class. So, wanna head there?"

"Yes, I would," Pepper responded and walked next to the charming boy on their way to class. Behind them, Rhodey shook his head and patted Tony's shoulders as he made his way to Biology class.

"Fix it. Today." He warned him and disappeared into the crowd. Tony growled and smashed his fist sideways on his locker before he turned around and headed to Physics class.

* * *

**A/N: **This story is very fun to write (it's so easy compared to what I've done before; I oughta stick to simple plotlines). I hope it's also very fun to read. Please let me know if it is :)


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Xena101, tell me about it! I'm still hoping they do make one. By the end of the series, I was addicted to IMAA.

Thank you for everyone who is giving this newbie a chance to join the IMAA community! I will try to deliver the best for you :)

* * *

**Chapter 3**

When the lunch bell rang, Pepper rushed toward Rhodey's seat and dragged him out of the room, down the hall and into the school cafeteria. The trio hardly ever ate there, opting to eat on the roof, but Pepper had told Happy she could not spend lunch time with him because she had already made plans with Rhodey, so she had to make it happen. The poor boy was confused as hell as he was dragged to the closest table in the cafeteria and then unceremoniously dumped on the bench seat.

"What's the rush, Pepper? Are you that hungry?" Rhodey asked as he pulled off his backpack from his shoulder and laid it on the floor. Pepper did the same with her own backpack, sat on the opposite side of the table, and grabbed Rhodey's hands in hers and groaned.

"Rhodey! You have to help me! I don't know what to do!"

"What's the problem?" He asked even though he had a good idea what was troubling the girl.

"I don't even know where to start! I mean, Happy is all…you know, happy and excited that we're together but, but…I'm not there anymore, you know. And then, Tony…God, Tony! It just went terrible last night after you left! Thank you for that, by the way; now Tony hates me and wants me to be like Whitney but, I can't be like Whitney! I mean, he asked me once if I was turning into her when we went shoe shopping but I thought he was kidding! But now I know he _does_ want me to become Whitney, but I can't be that much of an airhead and, let's face it, I'm not rich. Oh! And that's not even mentioning how many guys have asked me out to day! And all because they found out I'm Rescue! What a load of crap is that? They have never even spoken to me before, and now they won't leave me alone! Do they really think I'm that shallow? C'mon! And then the girls have been – "

"Whoa, Pepper! BREATHE!" Rhodey said. "One issue at a time, OK? Breathe."

"OK," she agreed. "I'm breathing," she continued. "I'm calming down." After a few long inhales and exhales, she finally felt her beating heart come to a normal rate.

"Alright." Rhodey said. "Now, Happy?"

"Yes, Happy. I…He's a great guy, and he's been very patient with me and very kind, and he's very sweet, in a weird way anyway, but…"

"But you don't like him anymore."

"I wouldn't say I don't like him, but I don't like him like I should like him if he likes me in a way I don't. You get me?"

Rhodey blinked several times before shaking his head to reconnect his mind with his ears. "Well, just tell him. He will appreciate the honesty."

Pepper groaned. "I know! It sounds so easy but it's so hard! I don't want to break his heart, Rhodey. I want us to remain friends."

"And you will, but don't expect him to just bounce right back. The sooner you do it, though, the quicker he'll recover." Rhodey reasoned, silently wondering when he had suddenly become a young version of Dr. Phil for his two friends.

Pepper bit her bottom lip. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll talk to him today, after school."

"OK, one crisis down. What's next?"

Pepper let go of his hands and rubbed her face with them as she put her next thoughts in order. "Tony…it's so weird between us now. I…I know it's kinda my fault because I wanted to tell him even though he wouldn't let me, but then he kissed me, and we hugged, and then he was mad that I was still dating Happy. But he told me he wanted to say it first, so I was going to let him, but then the phone rang, and it was Happy, and I swear I wasn't going to answer, but he thought I was, so he –"

"PEPPER! You're doing it again. Slow down."

"OK. Uhm, Rhodey. Does Tony not want to be my friend now?"

"What makes you think that?"

"He…I don't know. I just, I don't want to lose his friendship," she began, recalling the conversation she and Happy had two days ago. "It's already bad enough we're all going to go our separate ways in less than a month, but I was hoping we could all spend the summer together before I never heard from you guys until who-knows-when. Even if he and I didn't…even if he didn't feel the same way, in the end."

Rhodey listened to his friend, toying with the idea of telling her that Tony did feel the same way, but that he was just born without the socially-adaptable DNA strand. However, he knew that as much as he wanted to just lock up both of the teens in a closet and throw away the key, there was only so much meddling he could do for them. If they did not figure this out on their own, their relationship would never truly take off, and then they ran the risk of splitting up before anything good actually grew between them.

"Besides," she added after a short pause. "I could never be like Whitney."

"I know it's going to sound repetitive, but you just have to talk to him. And maybe turn off your cell phone when you do."

Pepper chuckled. "I guess so. But, what about these guys? I mean, wow. You'd think I won the lottery or something. Do they really think I don't know what they're doing? What about you? Any trouble?"

Rhodey smiled wide and then took out a handful of napkins and waved them in front of the Pepper. "I'm not complaining. I've gotten, like, ten cell phone numbers since this morning."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Ugh, guys!"

"I'm not even sorry, Pep." Rhodey said in between chuckles.

Pepper grinned and shook her head. She opened her mouth to say something else but then the commotion coming from the entrance of the cafeteria stopped her. The two teens turned to Pepper's left to watch the metal doors being opened to reveal Tony Stark fighting his way inside the cafeteria while being mobbed by at least twenty girls. His eyes immediately fell on hers, and with renewed purpose he began pulling his way off the limbs that kept him in place accompanied by the screams of "_Marry me!" "Call me!"_ and _"I'll be your Iron Girl!"_ coming from behind him.

Rhodey and Pepper watched, unamused, as Tony finally pulled away from the fans and sped his way to their table, stopping only to take a deep breath. He placed one hand over the table to hold his weight and his other palm over his chest, and then looked over his shoulder to see if the stalkers were still behind him. "Damn! What is up with that?!"

"It's what you should've been used to by now, Tony." Rhodey said with no hint of sympathy for this friend.

Tony shook his head in disbelief. "No way! Not getting used to that, ever!" He pointed behind him, still in shock. "They even followed me inside the guy's restroom! I had to escape through the window, and it was _very_ small!"

"I hear you, Tony. That sounds like a problem for your big head." Rhodey said and pointed with his chin toward Pepper's fallen face. Tony eyes followed Rhodey's gaze and by the time Tony looked back to stare at Rhodey, he was already gone, so he returned his attention to his redhead friend.

"Pepper, I…we…"

Pepper's eyes drifted to the side, not wanting to lose herself in his eyes again like she had done the night before. Tony was not deterred, however, and sat next to her on the bench. His back was facing the rapidly increasing group of fan girls behind him, and each one of his legs was on either side of the bench. "Pepper, please, about this morning…"

"Tony, it's OK. I know how much you liked Whitney. You probably miss her. I understand."

Tony rested his left arm on the table and leaned down and over to see her face. His right hand landed on her lower back as he had ended sitting sideways to her. It somehow felt as if he was physically cornering her, but he just had to make her see that she had misunderstood what she had heard this morning. "It's not like that, Pepper. What Whitney and I had is… _was_…it's nothing compared to what I want…for us…"

Pepper's eyes fell on his for an instant but when she saw the groupie getting closer, she bit her lip. Tony looked over his shoulder again, and cursed under his breath. "Why won't they leave me alone? Don't they take the hint? I'm _not_ available." Tony said before his head snapped back to stare at Pepper.

"Look, Pep, we _so_ need to talk. I don't want you mad at me. I don't want you to think that the kiss meant nothing to me, because it did mean something. But, obviously we can't talk here, so what about we meet at the armory tonight?"

"I guess we could."

"Yes, yes we can. We should and we need to. Please."

_"Tony, I'd love to let you take me out on a date tonight,"_ a random female voice said behind them, but they both ignored it.

"Please promise me you'll be there."

_"Tony, can I ride on your Iron Man suit? If you know what I mean."_ Another female voice said in a rather sultry tone, making Pepper scoff in disgust. Tony could already feel their vibes almost crawling on his back, so he redirected Pepper's attention to his face by lifting hers by her chin, with his fingers.

"Pepper?" His eyes glued to her, desperately seeking her approval.

"I…" she hesitated but his pained look was enough for her to relent. "Yes, I'll be there."

"Say you promise." He insisted despite the fact that with the mob only a few feet behind them, he was running out of time.

"I promise, Tony. I'll be there," she said with more determination than before. Tony gave her a quick smile before he pulled away from her.

"I gotta go hide, but I'll be waiting for you, Pep." He said before he winked at her, jumped on top of the table and ran out of the cafeteria to the closest exit. The girls did not waste any time in chasing after him, and the unfortunate Tony Stark could only hope his armor was almost near the school so he could get out.

xxxXXXxxx

Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts sat in silence on the edge of the roof of the Tomorrow Academy after school. Just as she had predicted, the breakup was devastating for Happy, but as Rhodey had said, he was appreciating the honesty. Pepper felt as if she should have said more to try to justify their breakup, but other than saying she had been in love with Tony for the longest time, she did not have any other arguments that would make Happy feel any better about the entire situation.

"I kinda already knew it was coming, you know?" Happy said, staring down to the traffic below them. "Yesterday, one of the news channels had a marathon of what happened during the battle, and one of the clips showed Tony giving you a kiss and you guys hugging."

"Oh! I didn't know it had been recorded."

Happy nodded. "Some of the footage showed Tony – Iron Man, saving you many times. In fact, there were only a couple scenes that had you where Tony wasn't close by." Happy finished with a forced chuckle. "I knew you and Tony were close, but I wasn't sure how much since you were dating me, and he dated Whitney for a while."

"I…I didn't know either, Happy." She admitted.

"S'cool. At least you told me about it first. Besides, it's not like we can't be friends, right?"

"Oh, Happy!" Pepper whined as she jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. Happy returned her embrace and they remained in the other's grip for a few minutes until Happy finally broke it off.

"Tony's a good guy. If I'm going to lose you, at least it's to someone like him; he'll treat you right and keep you safe. I mean, who's gonna be stupid enough to hurt Iron Man's girlfriend, right?"

Pepper could not hold back the blush that covered her face. She had not even considered herself in the terms Happy was so pointedly listing, but if tonight Tony was going to bring up the topic of giving dating a chance, she would be pretty much labeled as the girlfriend of the teen hero. She also had her hero identity, but Iron Man had been the first one, so he had more time to be even more popular than she and Rhodey could ever hope to be.

"I guess so. So, are we OK, Happy?"

"We are, Pepper."

After another hug and a kiss from Pepper on Happy's cheek, Pepper left Happy to his thoughts so she could rush home to freshen up before it became time to meet up with Tony at the pre-arranged place and time.

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**A/N:** Pepperony is so cute in any continuity, I swear. THE FEELS! (*o*)


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: **More feels to come. Thank you everyone for your reviews/favorites/follows :D The more that come my way, the more feels we all get (n_n)

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**Chapter 4**

Tony paced back and forth in his lab as he recited multiple lines of what he wanted to tell Pepper when she arrived. His statements varied depending on Pepper's reactions and on whether or not she was still Happy's girlfriend, but they all came down to the same: he wanted his relationship with Pepper to move to the next level. He had also thought about perhaps speaking directly with Happy to make sure they were still on good terms –or to let Happy punch him in the face, if that was what the jock needed to be on good terms – but he could make a final determination on this only after his conversation with Rescue's alter ego.

For the twentieth time in the last five minutes, Tony looked down at his watch to stare at the time. It was nearly seven o'clock, and while he had not actually given Pepper an exact time of what 'tonight' meant, he had expected her to appear more than two hours ago. Tony put his hands in his pockets, relaxed his shoulders, closed his eyes, and silently recited his prepared words in his head again.

He had it all planned out. He was first going to explain and apologize to Pepper regarding the half conversation she had heard this morning in school. After that was in the clear, he was going to then apologize for snapping at her two days ago when they were in his lab and her phone had rung. Then, he was going to apologize for not being honest with her way back then when he had realized he liked her as more than just a friend, and after asking if she was planning to remain as Happy's girlfriend, he would then either ask her to give them a chance, or accept that she was happy –no pun intended – with someone else.

_Apologize, apologize, apologize. Might as well just get on my knees and beg for forgiveness; it'll save us both some time._

The sound of the hiss of the front doors as they opened behind him made his eyes snap open. His relaxed shoulders became rigid and he held his breath. He heard small steps getting near him, stopping only a few feet away from him.

"Hi, Tony," she said in an uncharacteristic soft voice, and just like that he forgot five hours of rehearsed speeches. Tony gulped and slowly turned around in place to find his redhead staring directly at him. When his eyes landed on hers, she could hold his gaze for only a brief moment before she looked down to stare at her fingers as they began fiddling with the hem of her blouse. "I wasn't sure what you meant by 'tonight.' I hope I'm not too late or too early."

"No, you…" Tony finally found his voice and swallowed hard once more. "You're just perfect."

Pepper bit her bottom lip and looked up at him with the faintest hint of an embarrassed smile on her face.

"I mean, uhm," he pulled on the collar of his shirt. "On time. Perfectly on time." He was nearly breathless by the time he clarified his statement. _Oh, nuts! Is it hot in here?_

Pepper chuckled lightly and began walking toward his computer screens, hands on her back, and not really caring what was on the monitors but needing to put some space between them. "So, what did you want to talk about?" She asked in the most nonchalant tone she could muster.

Now that Pepper was not looking directly at him, the inventor was able to regain some of his confidence and he too began looking for something to do with his hands. He settled on approaching his working table and began moving his tools around in no particular order. "A few things, actually; mostly about things that I shouldn't have done or said."

Pepper's heart, which had been beating rapidly in her chest with hope, ended up on the floor by her feet. This was not sounding good to her, so far. Was he going to tell her he should have not kissed her? Was he going to take back all the minor hints that had given her the faith she needed to come here tonight? "Oh," she managed to say after she yelled at her mind to stop reading too much into his words.

"Yeah, uhm, I, uh…Well, this morning, with Rhodey, what you heard me saying about Whitney and you…" He paused to see if she was listening, and when her head moved slightly to the direction he was standing by the work table, he knew she was. "I know how it must've sounded to you, but I didn't mean to say you have to be Whitney, or that Whitney is better than you, or…"

"Or?" She asked after his pause was too long for her taste.

"Or that I'd rather be with Whitney than with you."

Pepper's thumb landed in her mouth and she began chewing on her nail as her head straightened out again so that she was facing the screens once more. "That's a relief." She sighed. "I don't think being a blonde is really my style."

It was Tony's turn to chuckle, even if it sounded more like a nervous whelp. "Yeah, natural is better. Anyway, I'm sorry I gave you the wrong impression there; it wasn't my intention to ruin your morning." He turned around to give his back to hers.

Pepper shrugged and turned around to stare at his back as he worked on his tools. "It's alright. I should've known better, right?"

"We both should've," he added before he took a deep breath.

"Is that all?" She pressed on, taking baby steps toward where he stood.

"No. I…I also wanted to…uhm…I…you see, I was jerk to you a few days ago, when...when your phone rang. I know you and Happy are dating, and I should've known he comes first."

The silence that followed his last words bounced off the walls so loudly he thought he was going to go deaf from it. Eventually he felt a warm hand land on his left arm and he stared down at it, his breath hitching in his throat at the unexpected touch.

"He doesn't come first, Tony." She nearly whispered to him. "Do you know how many times I ditched _him_ to help _you_? I'm not proud that I did, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat if you needed me."

Tony covered her hand on his arm with his right one and closed his eyes when he felt her stand behind him. So far, this was going better than he had planned, and the next words that came out of his mouth had not been rehearsed; they came straight from deep inside him. "I need you right now, Pepper."

Pepper smiled and retracted her hand from him only to surround his body from behind, snaking her arms around his waist. She was much shorter than Tony, so she was not able to rest her chin on his shoulder as she would have liked, so she opted to rest the side of her face on his back. Tony covered her arms on his stomach with his own arms and leaned his back closer toward her to let her know he was enjoying the contact. His heart was beating in his throat at a thousand times a second, and never before had he experienced such a sensation around anyone else until now.

"Pepper…" He said in bliss.

"It's over."

Tony's eyes opened and he stared down at their laced arms. "What's over?" He asked with a panicked tone.

"Me and Happy. It's over."

Tony let out the small gasp he had been holding back. "Why?"

"Because I…because I ended it with him, today –after school."

Tony licked his lips as he realized his opportunity, the one he had been praying he could have, was there for the taking. He opened his mouth a few times to express his – what? Joy? Condolences? – but the words would just not come out. When he felt Pepper beginning to pull back from him, he quickly tightened his grip on her and shook his head. "No."

He was not ready to let her go.

The forceful yet gentle command made her stop her efforts to move away. He then laced his right hand on hers and pressed them both onto his chest. Pepper was surprised to feel how rapid his heart was working, and she wondered if he could feel her similarly pounding one through his shirt on his back.

"That's all your doing, Pep." He admitted of his fast-pacing heart.

Pepper closed her eyes, not sure what to say but enjoying the declaration nonetheless. She felt him turn around while still in her embrace, and a moment later he ended up facing her, his hands tenderly surrounded her neck, and he silently waited for her to look at him. She finally opened her eyes once more and held his gaze as steady as she could as he spoke again. "Any chance you'd like to give this jerk a shot?"

"Are you offering to be the rebound, Tony Stark?" She asked with a tone that told him she was joking about the rebound part and a smile on her face.

Tony shrugged and returned the smile, still holding her face in his hands. "I'll take what I can get for now." He joked back.

Her face suddenly turned serious and Tony's confidence plummeted again. "Are you sure, Tony?"

"What do you mean, Pepper? Of course I'm sure. I've been sure for a long time." He tried to reassure her as best as he could. He was not certain why she was asking him if he was convinced; he knew his feelings were not going to go away any time soon.

"Then, why now? What changed? Why didn't you say anything before if you were so sure?" She asked him. This was a huge step for them, and she was sure as hell she did not want to jump into something with Tony simply because he felt left out when Happy was around. There were too many things at stake if they did and it did not work out between them.

"You were with Happy." He replied.

"And you were with Whitney." She reminded him. "And I was still with Happy when you gave me that kiss."

"And you were still with Happy when you were going to tell me that you like me like I like you." He pointed out, knowing it would invalidate her argument.

Pepper was taken aback. "I…I thought we were going to die!"

"Is that the only reason why you wanted to tell me?" He probed.

"Is that the only reason why you kissed me?" She spat.

"I kissed you because I wanted to."

"Well, I was going to tell you because I wanted to, too!" She was beginning to shout now; the intensity he loved so much about her finally showing its face.

"I want to kiss you right now." He smirked.

"Well, I'm not sure I want you to kiss me right now," she said in a final attempt to save face but her tone and her eyes staring down at his lips betrayed her true feelings, giving him back his confidence and the final push he needed to make his next move.

"Well, tough luck," he said and he pressed his lips on hers. His kiss was soft and slow, both savoring every second of it while it lasted. When he finally pulled back it was not all the way; his face was still inches away from hers, and they were both breathing hard to catch their breath.

"Why is it that guys think they can just steal a kiss from me?"

"It's not just _guys_. Happy was your boyfriend; that status actually entitled him to a kiss or two."

"What about you? You aren't my boyfriend."

"Can I be your boyfriend?"

"Do you _want_ to be my boyfriend?"

"I thought you'd never ask, Pep!" He said with a joking tone.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Ugh! You…you _tricked_ me! You jerk!"

"_Your_ jerk, right?"

"I…" she exhaled loudly in defeat. "Yes, _my_ jerk."

"So, can I kiss you again?"

"Mmmaybe…" she giggled before she tiptoed and kissed him. This time the kiss lasted longer than the first, and while the intensity did not change, it felt different than the first, as did the third, and the fourth.

* * *

**A/N:** How is _that_ for fluff? Anyone being rushed to the hospital with an attack of the feels? Anyone? This seems like a perfect ending, TBH. But, if the readers want more, they will get more...if you let me know ;)


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The next morning – and to Howard's surprise – Tony woke up earlier than usual to meet Pepper at her doorstep. He did not yet have a car like Rhodey – limousine notwithstanding, but he figured the redhead would appreciate the walk to school, just the two of them. She had not expected him to show up at her door –and neither had a suspicious-looking Virgil – but the way her face lit up when he did, made it worth risking being shot in the face by the guarded FBI agent. He could not really blame Virgil; Pepper was his only daughter and child, and he Tony could only guess how upset the man had been when he had found out that the rich boy had made a suit of armor for his little girl.

Their walk to school was as normal as their seldom ones in the past had been; the only major difference today was that they were holding hands. As always, Pepper was rambling about something Tony did not quite understand, but he still smiled at her and nodded along as he tried to follow the conversation as best as he could. Even if at the start of their friendship it had been confusing to him, he now found it endearing the way Pepper was so animated when she spoke.

Her eyes would sparkle with happiness for a second, and the next second they would fill with rage when she spoke about something that made her mad. She would then return to her normal state, and she would gesture all over the place with her free hand. Her head wobbled from side to side every now and then, making her hair move along with it and releasing the scent of her shampoo, which Tony's olfactory sensors took in shamelessly.

"Anyway," she continued her spiel. "He followed me to second period even though he has gym class way over on the other side of school. I told him it wasn't necessary, but he insisted. And then he asked me –"

At the fourth mention of the word _he_, Tony's ears perked up. "Wait, hold up, who? _He_, who?"

"What do you mean 'who'?" Pepper snapped at him. "Kevin Kowalowski, from English class! Haven't you been paying attention to me at all, Tony?"

"Uhm…partly…" He responded even though he knew that if she asked him right now to paraphrase what she had been so avidly talking about during their walk, he would only be able to recall the kiss on the cheek she gave him when they left her house, and perhaps every other twentieth word since.

Pepper scoffed. "Then I guess you're not interested in the rest of my story." She pulled her face away from him.

"No, believe me, _I am_. What did he want?" He tugged lightly on her hand, which he was grateful she had not released yet.

"Which one?" She faced him again with a tilt of her head. "Kevin, Scott, Randall, Josh, Ivan, Greg or Matthew?"

Tony narrowed his eyes at her and stopped cold in his tracks. "I don't think I've ever heard you say so many guys' names in one sentence, and none of those is mine."

"That's what I've been telling you, Tony! They won't leave me alone! Last night after I went home, they kept texting me until I just had to turn off my phone or I wouldn't have gotten any sleep. I don't even know how they got my number. Can you believe that? I, of all people, couldn't keep up with their texts!"

Tony resumed walking and she did so as well, shaking her head at her boyfriend for not paying attention to her until now. Then again, she mused, it had been their little personal quirks that had attracted them to each other in the first place, so she truly did not expect them to change who they were just because they were now dating.

"So, who do I have to beat up first?" The genius asked with a solemn look on his face.

"TONY!"

"Well, what did you expect me to want to do? Thank them for ogling my girlfriend? Why didn't Happy do anything about it yesterday?"

"Because he didn't know. And, of course not; I don't expect you to thank them, but I can take care of myself, thank you very much. I'm just letting you know so that if you see them trying anything funny, you don't think it's me."

"I wouldn't think it's you, Pepper. Why would you even think that?"

"I don't know; you react weird sometimes. Anyway, it was just an FYI. Nothing to it."

"If you say so." He one-side shrugged before a memory of yesterday in the cafeteria returned to him. "Well, I guess I can see what you mean. I had to skip the second half of school yesterday. Those girls just kept following me around."

"I saw," she giggled. "I think I may have been seen a couple of guys in the mob, too." She winked at him. Tony shuddered.

"Don't even joke about that, Pep."

Pepper giggled and pressed herself against his side, surrounding his left arm with her left. "But, seriously, Tony. Your fans are going to lynch me alive. Maybe we shouldn't show that we…uhm…that we are…well, you know."

"Together? No way, Pepper." He shook his head. "They'll just have to get over it."

"And kill me in the process."

"They'll be pissy, I'm sure, but so will your fans." He winked down at her. "They'll move on."

"Easy for you to say." She scoffed. "In your case, it'll only be the girls harassing you. In my case, it will be both: guys asking me out after I've already said no, and girls trying to make me suffer for taking you off the market."

Tony frowned and looked down at Pepper's concerned face. "I didn't think about that. They didn't get all upset when I dated Whitney, why would they bother _you_ now?"

"Because Whitney was the perfect girl for you."

"Perfect?" He was taken aback. "I'd hardly classify her as perfect, Pepper."

"I don't mean perfect as if she was flawless, but she was on a different level than everyone else there. She's pretty, sophisticated and rich, and she knew you since you were kids. It was like an unwritten rule that she had dibs on you. How many other girls matched her qualifications?" Pepper asked as she single-handed air-quoted the last word.

"Well, I guess if you put it that way."

"And then there's me. Not as pretty, definitely not sophisticated, and rich? Yeah, right! I'm, like, at the bottom 25% of the food chain. You're _way_ out of my league."

Tony's frowned deepened at hearing her words, and when he realized they were a block away from the school's entrance, he stopped their walk. He then turned around to face Pepper, placed his left hand on her waist to pull her closer to him, and his right hand combed the bangs that had been set out of place by pressing the side of her face to his shoulder. Once her hair was back to its normal state, he rested his right hand on her neck and stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I didn't know you cared so much about those stupid unwritten rules, Pepper."

"I don't, but that doesn't mean they don't apply, or that everyone else doesn't care for them either and that they won't be trying to enforce them, or that I won't be feeling the effects of them. It's a fact of life…or at least at school. But, hey! They'll only bother me until you and I break up or when school's over; whichever comes first." She finished with a shrug and a weak smile.

"Then I guess it's going to be a long last month at school, huh? Or a very long life, if those rules still apply after graduation." Tony said with a soft smile as he waited for the implicit meaning of his words to befall the redhead. She narrowed her eyes at him as his words repeated in her mind, and once she understood what he had meant, she blushed.

She heard him chuckle when she rested her forehead on his chest to hide her flushed face, groaning and cursing under her breath at his damned charm. "You are thinking _way_ ahead of yourself, Tony. Like, light-years ahead."

"A light-year is a measure of distance, not time, Pep."

She shook her head but could still feel the heat in her cheeks, so she remained pressed against him while she got a hold of herself. "Whatever, nerd. You know what I mean."

"Hey, come on, Pepper." He leaned down to kiss the side of her face and then whispered in her ear. "We don't even know if they're even going to do anything, and if they do, it will die down eventually, right? As long as we don't show them it bothers us, they'll leave us alone."

Pepper surrounded Tony with her arms and held him tightly as she took in a deep breath. She finally pulled away and looked up at him. "You're right. They'll have to get tired at some point, right?"

"Right. And, I don't care what they think about you or me, or us together." He said with a determined voice and a matching look on his face. "This is what I want, and if they don't like it, they can go f—"

"Hey, guys!" Rhodey called a few feet away from them. "Oh, I see somebody's getting comfortable around here," he teased them and then poked Tony on his ribs. "Is this guy giving you a hard time, Pepper?"

Pepper giggled and shook her head. "Not yet he isn't, but when he does, I'll make sure to suit up and then ask War Machine for backup."

"And I'll be glad to kick his canned butt." Rhodey said, earning him a scoff from the young inventor before James began walking ahead of them toward school, and the couple followed him close behind.

Tony rearranged his and Pepper's positions as they walked by surrounding her shoulders with his left arm and interlacing his left hand with hers. Pepper had to bend up her left arm so that he could reach it, but she did not really mind; she never knew Tony could be so physically expressive. "You two can't take me. All I have to do is call on Extremis and render your suits unusable. I am Iron Man, remember?"

"Oh, yeah?" Rhodey challenged.

"Yeah!" Tony responded.

"I see. And all Pepper has to do is give you 'the look' and Iron Man becomes Pudding Man."

"Pudding what? Look? What look?"

As if rehearsed, Pepper called to him in a near whisper, followed by her staring up at him with a saddened look. He saw her bottom lip quiver and her eyes shine more than usual, and her brows knitted in utter misery. Tony felt something tugging at his chest, and his just recently overconfident aura swiftly changed to one of pure desperation. "What is it Pepper? What's wrong?"

Pepper held 'the look' for a few more seconds before she could no longer contain her laughter inside. Rhodey followed her cue and began laughing aloud as well, much to Tony's disapproval.

"That was low, you two."

"I'm sorry, Tony," Pepper said as he wiped tears from her eyes. "I couldn't help it."

"Try to fix _that_ with Extremis, Tony," Rhodey teased, his laughter only growing louder when Tony growled at him.

"Ha-ha! Laugh it out. And here I was thinking you guys were my two best friends."

"We are! That's why we tease you," Pepper said before tiptoeing and placing a quick kiss on his cheek. Tony wanted to show he was still upset, but hearing and seeing Pepper so happy when just moments before she was afraid of retaliation at school made his anger disappear.

"Fine! You'll come back crawling to me when your suits need repairing. You'll see!" He said, trying to save face and have the last word, but they all knew it was just for show. The three youngsters finally arrived at the school's door, opened it wide, and walked in. The moment they set one foot inside, the loud hallway became as silent as a graveyard, and all eyes fell on them.

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you for reading! ^_^ Reviews are appreciated.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Pepper felt the piercing of everyone's stares and slowly began pulling away from her boyfriend, but he held her in her rightful place next to him by tightening the grip around her shoulders and hand. He gave her an almost unperceivable shake of the head to let her know he was not letting her go, before he began walking down the hall and dragged her along with him. The redhead swallowed hard and followed him on their way to their lockers with Rhodey silently walking behind them and keeping an eye for anyone stupid enough to try to jump them. The silence that had befallen the halls of the Tomorrow Academy slowly faded into murmurs, and the murmurs were followed by gasps of surprise. With every step the new couple took, the gossip became louder and louder until it reached the ears of the objects of the talk of the school.

"Tony…" Pepper whispered as she closed her eyes and leaned closer into his body when she heard the words _Happy_, _cheater_, _slut_, and _gold digger_. Tony's ears caught the venom-filled words, too, and it made him angry to hear them but he knew Pepper was neither of those things, and he hoped that as long as he showed everyone that _she_ was the one _he_ wanted to be with, the name calling would eventually stop. They finally stopped in front of her locker and Tony stood firmly behind her, holding protectively onto her waist as she opened her locker to swap her books but gasped instead. "What the…"

Tony looked over her head to peek inside the locker and was as shocked as her to see what was inside. "Pepper…oh, no…"

Every belonging of hers that had been inside the locker had been destroyed by either shredding the pages of her books, smashing the screen of her music player and her pocket mirror, or stained by the crushed raw eggs that had been thrown inside. She pulled out her P.E. uniform and held it up high to see holes had been made in it and the words _Ugly Bitch_ had been written in what she could only assume was black permanent marker, across the t-shirt. Pepper held back a sob and threw the uniform back inside before slamming shut the locker.

"What the hell do they think they're doing?" Rhodey asked as he turned around when he heard barely muffled giggles of a group of girls a few feet away from them as they keenly observed Pepper's reaction to their little prank. Rhodey – who was not as clueless as Tony when it came to the unwritten rules of the food chain at the Academy – had expected some upset girls when word had spread that Pepper had broken up with Happy for Tony, but he had not expected the retaliation would be taken this far. "Pepper, are you alright?" Rhodey asked his troubled friend but she did not immediately respond.

Pepper turned around to face Tony who was yet to move from his spot as anger was quickly rising inside of him. He moved his hands from her waist up her arms, to her shoulders, and then to the sides of her neck before he whispered her name as his thumbs rested on the sides of her face. She slowly lifted her teary gaze at the inventor and Tony's heart broke. He felt like a fool for mocking her about what could happen if the school found out about them; she had asked him to keep it a secret and he had practically scoffed at the idea, and now here she was: the owner of a locker filled with personal effects that were in no condition to be used ever again.

"How did they find out, Rhodey?" Tony turned his face to the right to stare at his equally upset friend, never letting go of Pepper's downcast face.

"Same way I found out: one of the girls over there overheard Pepper and Happy's breakup and sent texts to everyone."

"You knew about this?" Tony asked in an irritated tone. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?"

"I thought it was a stupid text! A girl thing!"

"Well, this _girl thing_ is more than just that, isn't?" Tony spat and returned his attention to Pepper and softened his tone of voice. "Pep, don't cry, come on. That's what they want. We'll get all of your stuff replaced, I promise. We'll get you a better lock. Just, don't give them what they want."

"What they want is for you and I to break up, Tony." She responded bitterly.

"Well, they are shit out of luck, alright? I'm not going to let a stupid prank get in the way of us." He used his thumbs to wipe away her tears before he bent down and kissed her square on the lips. Everyone's eyes – including Rhodey's – widened in surprise since it was uncommon to see any couple in school be involved in PDA in the halls, and not even when he had dated Whitney did anyone see Tony and the blonde kiss anywhere else but on the cheek. After a few seconds, Tony finally pulled away and gave the redhead a smile.

"Come on, let's get ready for class. You can borrow my books; I don't even need them."

"I don't feel like…"

"No, Pepper. Screw them! If you go home they'll know they've got to you. I'll walk you to every class, alright? They're just desperate and don't know what else to do. Besides, since when do you give up so easily, huh?"

"It's not that…I don't…It's just…" Pepper turned slightly back to the locker, opened the door, and from inside the mess she pulled an almost unrecognizable piece of paper. She used the sleeve of her ruined uniform t-shirt to wipe off some of the mess from the paper and it was then that Tony realized it was not just paper, but an irreparable photograph. "This is the last picture I had of me, my Dad and my Mom before they got divorced. I can't replace this."

"Oh, Pep…"

Pepper threw the photograph back inside the locker and closed the door once more. She cleaned her face with the back of her hands and took in deep breaths. "But, you're right. It's going to be OK. It will die down."

Surprisingly, Tony Stark was not so sure about that anymore, but he did not let his face reflect his doubts. "That's right, Pepper. Now, let's go."

As opposed to the day before, today's first class –and most of the ones today with the exception of the last one, she and Tony shared in the same classroom. The schedule of the Tomorrow Academy was such that the classes were alternated every other day, and Tony could have not been gladder than to be able to spend most of the day with her. If he thought their P.E. teacher – the last class of the day – would allow it, he would ditch his last class and sit at the back to watch over her but sadly, it was not going to be the case.

"Are you ready?" He asked again when the first warning bell rang. Pepper nodded at him and Tony nodded back, grabbed her hand and they walked to their first class, this time ignoring the satisfied looks of the people responsible for trashing the redhead's locker.

xxxXXXxxx

Pepper widened her eyes at the screen at the front of the class, her eyes almost spinning to the back to her head at the complicated chemical compound diagram the teacher was explaining. It had been the same so far throughout the day: nothing that was shown to her made any sense, her mind still clouded by the events of the morning. The only other good thing that had happened to her today – the first one being Tony's company – had been that Happy was still talking to her as if they were good friends.

She rubbed her face with her hands before she looked down at her notes. She then looked back up to the screen to compare her notes with the diagram to make sure she had written everything but the image was now gone.

"Oh, crud!" she whispered to herself, slamming the pencil on the table harder than needed and thus catching the attention of the teacher up front.

"Miss Potts?"

Pepper froze. "Yes, Miss Jones?"

"Do you care to tell me why you are disrespecting my class?"

Pepper was taken aback and briefly stared at Tony who was sitting to her left, equally as confused as her. The redhead opened her mouth to ask what Miss Jones was referring to but an open palm and a shake of the head coming from said instructor stopped her in her tracks. "I'm afraid your relationship with Mr. Stark is not going to get you out of detention today."

"D-detention?"

"Yes, it is what regular kids like you do when they're not off playing superhero."

"But, I…"

"Want to make it two days?"

Pepper shook her head at the teacher before looking down to her lap. She felt Tony crack his knuckles under the table before his hand shot up in the air. The back of his mind was screaming at him to keep his mouth shut, but his heart was pumping fast at the blatant unnecessary abuse of authority the teacher had just displayed. Miss Jones rolled her eyes at the youngster and spoke again. "Mr. Stark, there is no need to defend your girlfriend. She had it coming and she needs to get used to being treated like everyone else."

Tony smirked sideways and shook his head. "I wasn't going to."

"Oh?" Miss Jones's eyebrows rose to the top of her head. "Then what is it that you want, Mr. Stark?"

"I just wanted to tell you you're teaching a now obsolete form of non-organic compound representation and that you may want to update yourself before walking in here for next class. Geniuses like me tend not to appreciate a scientist that doesn't keep up with the program, that's all."

Everyone's face snapped from Tony's to Miss Jones, all wearing the same look of shock on their faces. Pepper covered her face with her hands, knowing damned well –as did everyone else – why he had just put the teacher on the spot. It was clear to everyone that Tony did not belong in the school at all, as he had repeatedly corrected the teachers in their outdated information and knowledge; however, none of those times had he done so in such a fashion as to purposefully degrade any of the instructors as he had just endeavored.

Miss Jones swallowed hard as she recovered from the humiliation, yet Tony's smile did not fade when she frowned. He already knew what he was doing and what the punishment would be; he just needed to hear it from Miss Jones to make it official. Said teacher cleared her throat and eyed the clock hanging from the wall, informing her that the class had but just a few seconds before the lunch bell rang, which would be enough time to lay her sentence on the teen. "Well, Mr. Stark, I will surely take your cynical advice into consideration. However, there are better ways that you could've used to inform me of such. I cannot allow such disrespect to take place in my classroom. As such," Miss Jones' eyes landed on Pepper, who was still covering her face. "Miss Potts will spend the rest of the school in year in detention – every day, for 3 hours after school."

"WHAT?" Both teens asked aloud.

"You heard me, Miss Potts. And you have none other than your boyfriend to thank for it. I expect you in the detention room starting today; I have plenty of items that need cleaning, as my colleagues do, for sure. That will be all; class dismissed."

The lunch bell made itself known and it took everyone present in the room a few seconds to come to their senses as their minds processed what had just occurred. The staring and giggles echoed in Pepper's tired mind as the room slowly became devoid of students and the teacher, leaving two rather quiet teens staring into nothingness.

* * *

**A/N:** Damn! I'm mean! Anyway, sorry for the delay but I hope you're still interesting to see where this is going. Don't forget to let me know what you think!


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

With a loud grunt, Pepper Potts stood up from her desk, grabbed her belongings, threw them inside her backpack, and then stomped her way out of the row of seats before she sped up down the stairs leading to the exit of the classroom. Tony hardly had the time to put his own backpack on him before he rushed to catch up to her as she entered the halls. He tried to hold onto her hand but she kept her fists tight, so all he could hold on to was her wrist. "Pepper, will you please slow down!" He whispered to her to avoid the ears of the unwelcomed spectators who were thrilled to see the couple have their first fight.

"You just couldn't keep your mouth shut, couldn't you?" She spat back also in a whispering tone and picked up her pace. "You just _had_ to be Mr. Know-It-All. You have the worst timing ever, Tony Stark."

"Pepper, whatever happened in there was _not_ my intention. Can you please slow down and listen to me?" He begged her until he was finally able to stand in front her to block her path. Pepper was tempted to just go around him and keep walking outside the school, but his pleading eyes made her remain in place instead. She sighed loudly and shook her head before she pulled her hand away from his grip and crossed her arms on her chest.

Tony realized the scowl was not gone from her face, but he counted his blessings that she had at least stopped her hurried walk. "Look, Pep," he began as his hands tried to reach up to cup her face but one lifted eyebrow from her was all the warning he needed to close his hands instead despite the itch his skin had to touch her. "I screwed up, I know it, and I'm sorry," he began as he stared deeply into her eyes. "I'm really, really, really sorry. I was trying to get detention with you. I realize now it was stupid, but that's the truth."

"I know WHY you did it, Tony; everyone did, _especially_ Miss Jones. But, why, oh, why did you HAVE to do it? It was just one day! I would've been fine after that."

"I know, I know. It's just…she was so unreasonable. I don't even know what you did that pissed her off. It just made me mad that she was treating you like that. There was no reason for her to say that to you."

"Yeah, I know, but I didn't need your help. Now, I'm going to spend the rest of the year locked up in her room for three hours, Tony. Three hours! Not to mention what my dad is going to do to me for it, too. He probably won't let me fly off with you guys for a _very long time_."

Tony sighed in sadness and lowered his head in shame. "I know. I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say or do, Pepper. I just…that stupid prank in the morning, and then this…and I…I lost it, Pep. I feel like such a jerk. I never thought us being together would be so hard on you."

Pepper's stance finally relaxed somewhat. She realized, however, that the stares were still everywhere, so she grabbed Tony's hand and led them away from the prying eyes. Their walk did not stop until they were both outside the school, and at that point she looked at her watch to realize they still had fifty minutes to spare. "Let's go somewhere else, Tony."

"Where?"

"Anywhere but here."

Tony nodded in understanding and then pressed the center of his chest where the backpack lay and soon his body was covered in the suit of armor. He then surrounded Pepper's body with his arms, and she did the same with his neck and in the blink of an eye the two youngsters disappeared behind a trail of light from the repulsors. Neither of them noticed the pointing and staring that came from the students of the Tomorrow Academy that were eating lunch on the roof when they saw Iron Man, and girlfriend, fly over them in the direction of who-knew-where.

xxxXXXxxx

He landed them softly over the roof of an abandoned warehouse, several miles away from the school. With the speed of his suit, he knew he could get them back to the Tomorrow Academy in as fast as five minutes, much less if Pepper had her own suit as well, so he was not concerned about the time or distance. In fact, if he knew their absence from the second half of the school day would not put additional strain on their already troubled day, he would have taken them back to the armory until late at night. All he truly wanted, however, was the opportunity for them to be alone together and come up with an immediate action plan against those who were adamant that their relationship was one that should have never started in the first place.

_I need to hurry up with her backpack suit, too, _he thought to himself. At first, the idea of making Rhodey and Pepper their own backpack suits was out of mere convenience, but in less than 24 hours it had turned out to be a necessity rather than a nice thing to have.

Pepper took a step back from him and double-tapped the button in the middle of the armor's chest to begin retracting the suit from Tony. The inventor waited patiently until every piece of metal was off him before he swung the backpack over his shoulder and off him, and then dropped it carelessly onto the ground. As soon as his arms were obstruction-free, he flung himself towards Pepper and brought her against his chest, embracing her with an emotion the redhead recognized as one of deep regret for the actions he had taken earlier.

Pepper surrounded his waist with her arms and took a deep breath to keep back her tears. She knew Tony was as upset as her about their school day so far, and he did not need any more reasons to become angrier or sadder with himself. She slowly drew circles on his back with her fingertips to soothe him when she felt how tense his muscles truly were. In response, he repeatedly kissed the top of her head and ran his fingers through her hair, whispering words of apology to her as he did so.

After a considerate amount of time and after feeling some of the tension drained from their bodies, they both slowly pulled back from the other, feeling much better about where their spirits stood, but not yet in complete acceptance of what had happened. Tony then looked around himself to find a decent place to sit down that was away from the scorching midday sun. His eyes landed on a small patch of ground near the access staircase room for the roof, so he picked up his backpack and led them both to it.

He sat on the ground with his back against one of the walls of the small room that hid the stairs. He positioned himself in such a way that they were protected from the sun by the shadow the small room projected. He placed his backpack next to him on his right, and bent his legs to his chest. Pepper took off her backpack as well and laid it next to his before she also sat on the ground to Tony's left so that they were shoulder-to-shoulder. Tony's left hand held onto her right one, lacing their fingers together and briefly bringing them up to his lips to kiss hers for an instant before he rested his right cheek on their intertwined hands, and their hands rested on his knees.

Pepper's heart ached at seeing his concerned face, brows knitted in deep concentration, a dejected aura beaming all around him. She was aware of how much – in general - the feelings of guilt and personal accountability affected Tony. Even though he was usually laid-back, his sense of responsibility was greater than what she had seen on anyone else before, especially someone so young. She figured it came with the burden of being a superhero, and the brief period of time in his life where his father was considered long gone. Everyone who saw Tony from the glamorous point of view of a rising celebrity did not immediately become aware that for a period of almost two years of his life, the poor boy had been an orphan – rich, but still an orphan.

The redhead took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, catching the attention of the genius. She finally gave him one of her honest bright smiles as she leaned down to his face and kissed his exposed cheek. "I'm not mad at you, Tony. I'm sorry I snapped so easily. I should've known you'd never purposefully do anything to bring me any harm. I'm sorry, too."

Tony closed his eyes and exhaled as he felt a weight being lifted from his shoulders. His grip on her hand tightened and he fought the urge to cry in happiness. It was not as if he was a crier or easily controlled by random acts of kindness or forgiveness, but the more he thought about what he and Pepper had nurtured for the past two years, the more he realized how much suckier his life would be without her by his side. "Thank you, Pep," he whispered to her. She expected him to immediately regain his confident posture but he just remained as he was right now: surrounding her hand with his, resting his cheek on her hand, his upper body bent over his knees, and his eyes closed.

Eventually, and after a few minutes of his current position not changing, Pepper slowly pulled him up so that his back rested on the wall once more, and she surrounded his waist with her arms from the side, leaning her head on his shoulder. Tony responded by surrounding her shoulders with his left arm and slowly caressing her left arm that surrounded his stomach. He felt her moan slightly at the peace his embrace brought to her, and for the first time since the drama had begun this morning, a satisfied smile reached his lips.

"Now what, Tony?" She asked him. "This is just the first day of many more until the end of the school year. If they keep at it, they're gonna kill me by the end of this week. At this point I wouldn't put it past them to hide a bomb in my locker…or anthrax, at least."

Tony wanted nothing more than to tell her she was exaggerating, but after what had happened this morning, and the subtle implication that even the teachers were after her, he did not dare to take her suspicions as lightly as he had taken them today during their walk to school. "We just need to come up with a plan, and then a backup plan, and then a backup for the backup plan; one that may or may not include going Iron Man on all of their asses if they don't leave you alone."

Pepper laughed lightly, and to Tony the sound was like music to his ears. Even if his Iron Man comment had been meant to be taken only as a joke, part of him did not dismiss the possibility of going ape-shit on anyone who took actions against their being together. He would keep that crazy idea only to himself, of course – Rhodey and Pepper did not need to be held as witnesses to his moments of insanity in a court of law.

"So, what do you suggest? You're the strategist in the relationship, remember?" The redhead asked.

"Me? I thought that was your job?" He joked. "Aren't you the one who came up with the plan to sneak into Stark International to recover my suit from the vault?"

Pepper made a sound of acknowledgement. "You're right, I did. But, it was _your_ plan that helped us stop the Makluan army. Even Director Fury pointed out how much he would like for you to join S.H.I.E.L.D. I think your accomplishment of saving the world is much better than to brainwashing the teachers at the Academy into thinking they want to go to a field trip."

"True, but the problem at hand _is_ happening in the Tomorrow Academy. And that, my Pep, is _your _area of expertise."

"I think you're totally trying to force me to come up with a plan all on my own, but since you're asking so nicely, I'm willing to overlook it."

It was Tony's turn to laugh wholeheartedly. "No way, Pepper. I'm in this as much as you are. I just think that my ideas would involve throwing money at the school and I somehow think that won't solve the crazy fan girls problem."

"Remind me one of these days to show you why money doesn't solve everything, K?" She said as she straightened out herself and twisted her body to face his. Tony could tell by her posture and the look on her face that she was bringing out her strategist-mode, so he mimicked her posture in hopes some of her energy rubbed off on him.

"I will do so, but only if you remind me to explain to you why light-years don't measure time," he responded, causing the redhead to roll her eyes.

"Deal," she said. "Now," she hit her open left palm with her right fist. "Let's come up a way to fight back."

* * *

**A/N:** Holy moly! I'd never seen one of my made-up characters (Miss Jones) incite so much hate from my Faithful Readers (that's you), but I'm glad her actions got the reaction I was hoping for. For those of you who want to strangle the mean woman, just sit tight. No "good" deed goes unpunished in my crazy mind Thanks for R&R!


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Armed with an action plan, Tony and Pepper began their return to the Tomorrow Academy with minutes to spare before the bell was due to ring to signify the end of the lunch period. The next class the two teens had to attend – Literature – was shared with Rhodey, who had already heard about the commotion during Chemistry class and was in complete disbelief. Accounts of what had occurred varied depending on whom you asked, and so far the stories going around the campus ranged from dubious to just plain outrageous. The worst one he had heard on his way up to the roof had been one where Tony had apparently suited-up and blasted the teacher to ashes and dust.

_These people need to stop watching reality television_, Rhodey thought as he paced back and forth at the roof. Everyone else had already gone downstairs to wait for the final countdown to the bell, but Rhodey had not left the roof since he found out what had occurred. He knew Pepper and Tony had to land either on the roof or on the sidewalk, and from his vantage point Rhodey had all areas covered. _Where the hell are you? You have two minutes!_

Not a second after Rhodey's last thought, he heard the familiar sound of incoming flight stabilizers nearing the school grounds. He covered his eyes from the sun by placing his palm over his brows as he waited for the couple to make it down to the ground. As soon as Tony was certain Pepper's feet were securely on the ground, he began retracting his suit only to find the disapproving look of his long-time friend piercing his eyes. "Whatever you think happened, it's not true," Tony said immediately, hands up by the sides of his face in a defensive manner.

"If it was any other situation, I would've not believed your words, but in this case, I'm gonna have to admit you might be right."

"What's the rumor now, Rhodey?" Pepper asked as she and Tony walked closer to their friend.

"Oh, there isn't just one rumor; there are more like a million of them! Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"I wish I could," Pepper said with shake of her head. "One moment I'm trying to understand how to write diagrams of chemical compounds and the next I'm accused of disrespecting Miss Jones and her class."

"Did you?"

"No," Tony and Pepper said in unison.

Rhodey sighed and rubbed his temples in frustration. "Well, I think you probably want to have a long talk with Miss Jones today during detention. I don't know what happened but this whole thing got blown way out of proportion by the middle of lunch time. It doesn't help that the campaign to split you two up just got amped up."

"Amped up? What do you mean?" Tony asked, worried that the plan they had just come up with was going to be ineffective even before it got to be implemented. "Is there now an after-school club with the sole purpose of breaking us up? Is Janet Lowe the self-appointed president of it?" Tony threw his hands in the air in annoyance.

Janet had been one of the most adamant proposers and followers of the NYTA girls' _Force Tony Stark to Date Me_ movement of yesterday. There was no doubt in his mind that she could be the main perpetrator of any despicable rumors out there about Pepper, and perhaps even be the mastermind behind the locker prank of this morning. He was yet to tell Pepper about it, but Janet had been bold enough to steal a kiss from him yesterday morning in a moment of confusion while escaping the asphyxiating mob of fan girls.

"Might as well call it that," Rhodey responded much to Pepper and Tony's chagrin. "What are you going to do about it? Word is that the Principal already knows about it – the good and the bad – and he'll probably call you both to his office sometime soon. Oh! And your escapade during lunch didn't help either. Some of the girls swear that you two left so that you could have…well, you know…"

"Could have what?" Tony asked, wishing they had just stuck to his recommendation of not coming back to the school for the day. "Could have what, Rhodey?" The clueless genius asked again when he received no immediate response. Pepper, on the other hand, stared at Rhodey with questioning eyes, and when she saw the slight blush that crept up to James' face when Tony asked the question, she immediately understood what Rhodey had meant.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Both Tony and Rhodey flinched at Pepper's scream, leaving them both wondering how they were not bleeding from their ears. "DO THEY REALLY THINK WE WERE HAVING SEX?!"

"WHAT?" Tony asked in a tone similar to Pepper's, and this time it was only Rhodey who covered his ears. "IS THAT ALL THEY THINK ABOUT AROUND HERE?"

"Well, what did you guys expect, leaving like that in the middle of the school day when everyone knows you're dating?!"

"But, but, sex?" Pepper spat. "Tony and I having sex?" Pepper opened her mouth to continue her rant but when the corner of her eye caught something she did not want to see, her face paled. Rhodey and Tony stared at Pepper with a confused look before their eyes darted to what she was seeing and they too paled when they saw a group of girls and boys by the roof access door, mouths hung in shock. However, the consequences of their words did not truly hit home until they saw the group of students run downstairs as they chanted 'Tony and Pepper had sex!' for everyone else to hear.

"Oh, nuts," Rhodey mumbled immediately before Tony's pod began ringing. The inventor's eyes were still glued to the now empty opened door that led to the academy's bottom floors as he dug his hand inside his pants pocket and took out his pod. He removed his gaze away from the door just long enough to read the marked urgent text message that he had just received, only for his eyes to bug open.

"Oh, _shit_!" His swearword caused Pepper and Rhodey to look away from the door and watch Tony repeatedly hit his forehead with his pod. "It's my Dad. He just arrived to the school; the principal called him in when we left."

As soon as Tony's words ended, Rhodey's pod began ringing. With shaky hands and wide eyes he took it out of his pocket to read the text message he had just received. "What the hell? My mom was called, too! She carpooled with your Dad, Tony!"

"Son of a –" Tony's next word was cut off when Pepper's pod went off, causing the color to leave her already pale face. Rhodey and Tony's ears rung with the loud noise of her pod simultaneously receiving texts AND a call but she did not make any effort to retrieve it. After the call went to voicemail and the ringing began again, Rhodey spoke up.

"Uhm, Pepper, aren't you gonna answer that?"

Pepper nodded. "Yeah-huh. I'm gonna answer it alright, but there's something I need to do first," she said as she began walking away from where Tony and Rhodey stood.

"What's that?" Tony asked, brows furrowed.

"Oh, nothing important," she assured them with a wave of the hand. "Just gonna jump off the ledge." She placed a foot on the edge and prepared her body to jump. Tony ran toward her but his effort was in vain when the redhead stopped midway, walked down from the ledge, turned around and gulped.

"Your Dad just saw you, didn't he?" Rhodey asked, feeling terrible for his friend's luck.

"Glared, too," Pepper said before she covered her face with her hands as the first tardy bell for after lunch rang.

xxxXXXxxx

The walk down the hall had been worse than it had been in the morning. The spectators had no longer held back their actions and their rude comments from being said aloud. Their stares and finger pointing had been more than obvious, and some of the male students had even made obscene gestures toward the couple as the trio had walked to the principal's office. None of them had even been allowed to enter the classroom when they arrived and had been sent directly toward the main office of the school.

The three of them now sat in the front office where the three parents were holding a meeting with Principal Nara and Miss Jones behind closed doors. It had been at least an hour since their arrival, and the sound-proofed doors and walls prevented the teens from listening in on the conversation. Rhodey tapped his feet on the floor, and Pepper was yet to remove her hands from her face. Tony, for his part, was staring into nothingness as he hit himself mentally for getting Pepper in trouble. He did not care if his Dad was mad at him, and he knew Rhodey had no true involvement in the situation. Pepper's case, however, was a completely different story.

Not only had she become the target of many students overnight, she had also gotten on the bad side of a teacher, the principal, and who knew how many other people he was yet to find out about. She had severed ties with her first boyfriend ever, and would probably be grounded for a long time for _disrespecting_ a teacher. From all the terrible situations a soon-to-graduate high school student could experience, spending your last month in detention and being hated by the entire student body was probably one of the worst ones.

_And all because I have feelings for her_, he sighed as he stared at the redhead from the corner of his eye. _Is it worth it for us to be together if she's going to be treated like this? I'd rather her not go through all of this…I don't want her to suffer like this. We should just call it off…but…I don't want to…I…I…_

The sound of the door opening made the youngsters' heads snap to the left to see a familiar looking face walk out of the office. Pepper was the first one to react and ran toward him, her hands clasped on her chest as she spoke. "Oh, Happy! Please, please, please tell me you're not here because of me! Please tell me I didn't get you in trouble, too!"

Happy gave her a smile and shook his head. He could not deny that he still had feelings for Pepper, and seeing her worried expression and her almost watery eyes made him react in ways he probably should not have. The fact that he had heard the terrible things that were being said about her made him mad, and he could only imagine how devastating it was for Pepper – who would not purposely hurt anyone – to see her reputation smeared across the dirty floor. Regardless of how inappropriate it may have seemed, Harold still surrounded her slim form with his muscled arms and rocked her left and right as he spoke in a soft tone to her.

"Nah, Pepper. They just wanted me to clarify some of the rumors around here."

Pepper felt slightly relieved at those words but she still sniffed. The frustration and feeling of powerlessness to correct the situation was finally getting to her. She had tried to keep her head up and her nerves in check if for no other reason than to not worry Tony, but the rollercoaster of emotions she had been put through in one day had reached its peak. Her heart was beating fast in fear at what would happen when she walked inside the office, and she did not think she could bear to find out that any of her friends were greatly affected by whatever mutiny against her was going on around school. "Are you sure, Happy? You're not lying to me, are you?" She said in a voice muffled by her face on his chest.

Happy could feel the waves of desperation pouring out of her. She was shaking in his embrace, and he could tell she was moments away from breaking down as he pressed his lips near her ear to whisper to her. "I'm sure; and I'm not letting those girls get away with what they're doing to you. You don't deserve it, Pepper."

Pepper's barely controlled sob made it to the ears of everyone present, especially the ones of the silent young inventor sitting a few feet away from the hugging couple. His eyes were glued to Happy and Pepper, and while he knew there was nothing ill-intended in the exchange, he could not help but feel the terrible Green Monster – not the Hulk, mind you – move in to his heart and settle there. Tony swallowed hard and looked away from them, feeling both irrational and justified in his jealous actions.

"Hi, Pepper," a female voice said, which caught the attention of everyone again. Exiting from the Principal's office was Mrs. Hogan, a smile plastered on her face. Pepper pulled herself away from Happy and then lunged toward Harold's mom. "I miss your visits, girlie. When are you going to stop by?"

"I, uhm…well…"

Mrs. Hogan shook her head. "It's alright. Happy already told me it didn't work out between you two kids, but that doesn't mean you can't visit this old woman."

Pepper smiled brightly at her, truly regretting not being able to see her as often. Roberta Rhodes and Mrs. Hogan were the closest she had to a mother, and she valued them very much. "I promise I will stop by to visit soon, Mrs. Hogan."

"Any time, dear." Mrs. Hogan gave Pepper one last smile and hug before she and Happy left the room. When Pepper turned around to face the door, she was greeted by the Principal's secretary, who asked her to return to her seat. Pepper nodded and her state of depression returned as she sat in between Tony and Pepper.

"Mr. Rhodes, we will see you now," Glenda, the secretary said.

Rhodey stared at Tony and Pepper and shrugged before he stood up and followed Glenda inside the room. The lock of the door was the only sound in the office for a very long time.

* * *

**A/N:** Talk about interrogation room, huh? Again, thank you all for reading and especially for your reviews. Every review makes me write faster :) BTW, if you have stories here in FF, give your summaries a look. There was an issue where almost all of the words that were next to a period were removed for some reason. I had to go edit many of mine yesterday.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The dismissal bell rang loudly in the halls of the Tomorrow Academy, and while it signified to every student and teacher on campus that it was time to go home, to the two teenagers sitting outside the Principal's office, the bell was just a reminder that they had been sitting in the main office for nearly three hours. Rhodey had been called inside the office nearly an hour ago, and since their friend had been locked up in the room, neither Pepper nor Tony had said a word.

Pepper was worrying about what could be happening to Rhodey or what had happened to Happy. She was also fearful of whatever the Principal had ready for Tony, and the only thing that kept her in check right now was the fact that she knew Roberta and Howard were inside. If it had been just her, the Principal and her father, she knew she would have been toast.

Tony, on the other hand, was silently seething in the feelings of jealousy that increased by the second. He could not wrap his head around the reason why it had bothered him so much that Pepper and Happy had shared an innocent hug, but it was making his blood boil. He had seen Pepper interact with plenty of guys before – Gene included – and not once before had he ever felt like ripping off the boy's head from their bodies with his bare hands.

_What's wrong with me?_ He pondered_. Pepper is with me, not with Happy or anyone else. Why can't I chill out? But, she just…she just let Happy hug her like that…_

The chairs were becoming uncomfortable, so the genius rearranged his position in the chair. The movement caught the attention of the redhead who had been deep in thought since James had been called in. Her right middle finger flew to her teeth and she began chewing on her nail. She stared briefly at the still locked door before she turned to her right to speak to Tony. "Do you think they're torturing him? Maybe they've already killed him and are digging the grave? What's taking them so long?"

Tony's expression was not one of happiness, and before he could measure his words, he spoke up. "Oh, you're talking to me again?"

Pepper was taken aback by his comment but her tone of voice did not change. "What do you mean 'again'?"

"Well," Tony crossed his arms over his chest, "Since Happy was here and I turned invisible but now he's gone, I guess now you're talking to me again."

Pepper's mouth hung and almost made a hole in the floor. Her look of disbelief did not faze the mounting anger within the inventor, but in fact fueled it even more with the premise that she had no right to act as if he had just said something that was completely out of place. Pepper's mouth opened and closed several times as her mind processed his accusation but no words came out.

"Are you going to cry again?" Tony spat, anger blinding his usual tender attitude towards Pepper. "Do you want me to get Happy for you; give him another hug? Maybe even make out behind the stalls in the gym room so that you can feel better?"

Pepper felt tears reach her eyes but she blinked them back. Hearing Tony's hurtful words and seeing the marked grimace on his face was the last straw Pepper could take today. From everything everyone had said to her, it was Tony's words that pained her the most. She slowly got up from her chair to move away from him, so as to not continue the argument between them, but Tony was not done with his rant just yet.

"Where are you going now? Gonna look for Happy already? Do you miss your other boy –" Tony's words stopped when he felt his head snap to the right. His left hand instinctively covered the reddening cheek, and as he rubbed the sore spot and began to form the question he wanted to ask, he heard Pepper's cracking voice.

"You're such a jerk, Tony Stark."

By the time Tony realized what he had done, Glenda was outside the Principal's office, waiting to escort the young billionaire inside the room.

xxxXXXxxx

"Take a seat, Mr. Stark," Principal Nara said as his open hand indicated the chair in the middle of the room. Tony sat in it and stared around, wondering if Happy and Rhodey had to go through the same experience he was about to witness first hand. Principal Nara was sitting in his chair across from Tony. Glenda was sitting to Nara's left, apparently taking notes. Miss Jones stood by Nara's right, arms crossed over her chest, a scowl on her face.

To Tony's left and standing by the wall were the three parental units, their faces unreadable. Tony did not bother to stare at them and focused his eyes on the kind-looking principal when he cleared his throat. "Alright, Tony, do you know why you're here?"

Tony shrugged. "Because you had me sent here?" The inventor responded, which cause Howard to verbally scold his son for his attitude. Tony sighed loudly and shook his head. He adjusted his position in the chair and cleared his throat. "Sorry, Principal Nara. I didn't mean to be rude to you."

"It's quite alright. From what I hear, you haven't had the best of days, today."

"Could be worse, I guess." He trailed, his right foot tapping the floor and his eyes traveling to the opposite wall to the where the silent parents stood.

"And we don't want that for you or anyone else in this school. So, can you tell me what happened this morning when you arrived at school?"

"Pepper and I walked to her locker to get her books, and –" Tony began but was interrupted by the principal's hand.

"Did you arrive at the same time, you and Miss Potts?" The principal asked and Tony nodded.

"I went to pick her up at her home this morning."

"Did you two drive here? Or maybe…flew…here?" Nara asked, not finding another way to ask if Tony or Pepper had suited-up to come to school.

"No," Tony shook his head. "We walked."

"Is it typical of you to do this?"

"First time."

"And, may I ask what compelled you to do this today?"

Tony shrugged, feeling the eyes of everyone on him. "She's my girlfriend; thought it would be nice."

"How long have you been dating Miss Potts?"

Tony scratched the side of his head. "18 hours?" He responded and almost missed Miss Jones' roll of her eyes. "We just started yesterday. How is this relevant to why I'm here?"

"We are investigating the events of today so that we may understand what triggered them, and in order for me to make an informed decision of what disciplinary action should be taken and against whom, I'd like to hear everyone's side of the story."

"What story? There IS no story!" Tony said louder than needed. "The only thing you need to know is that some girls are planning to make Pepper's life miserable!"

"Do you have any evidence of that?"

Tony exhaled in frustration. "Of course I do!" He threw his hands in the air. "Pepper's locker was busted open and trashed!"

"Was anything taken?"

"No. But they pretty much made anything in there unusable. Her books, her electronic devices…even her P.E. uniform was torn and written on."

"Written on? What was written on it?"

Tony's eyes again darted to his Dad for a moment before he answered the question. "They wrote 'ugly bitch' on it, with permanent marker, I think."

The room became silent for a moment and Tony thought he was done being interrogated but Principal Nara continued his questioning. "Do you have any idea of why anyone would have done this to her?"

"Because we're dating, and they don't like it."

"'They'? Who's 'they'?"

"Probably the same girls that were chasing me yesterday."

"You were being chased yesterday? Did you notify any of the teachers?"

"No. What was I supposed to say: save me from the crazy girls?"

Principal Nara shrugged. "Well, tell me what happened after the school property vandalism was discovered."

"S-s-school property _vandalism_?" Tony said, aghast. "This was more than that! This was a personal attack against Pepper!"

"We are not certain of that, Mr. Stark."

Tony scoffed. "Maybe _you_ aren't, but _I_ am."

"And this certainty led you to do things you usually wouldn't do?"

"You mean what I told Miss Jones?" He pointed to the woman. "No, that she earned all by herself."

"Anthony Edward Stark!" Tony heard Howard say as he walked closer to his son. "Watch your tone!"

"The only one that needs to watch what she says is her!" Tony spat. "She just went off on Pepper for no reason!"

"Tony, stop screaming," his father warned.

"I'm not screaming! You want screaming? THIS IS SCREAMING!"

"What is the matter with you?" Miss Jones yelled back. "Do you think you can just treat everyone as if they were less than you because you have money, Mr. Stark?"

"And you think you can just treat everyone as if they were less than you because you're the teacher? Pepper didn't do shit to you!"

"TONY!"

"No! I don't know what her problem is, but she had no right to do what she did!"

"Will you stop it?" Howard said, closing the distance between he and his son and pushing him back onto the chair Tony had stood up from to point at Miss Jones. "What has gotten into you?"

"Me?" Tony pointed a finger to his chest. "What has gotten into _me_? Why is no one seeing what _she_ did wrong? Someone is threatening Pepper and no one cares about that? You're worried about _a locker_? Vandalism? Really? If the locker is such a big deal to you, I'll buy you a thousand new ones! I just want Pepper to not feel like she can't come to school!"

"And we are working on that, Mr. Stark," Principal Nara assured the agitated teen. "But you also need to see this objectively; don't let your relationship with Miss Potts blind you."

"I don't think I'm the one who's blind. It's everyone else in this room that's blind."

"What I meant to say, Tony," Nara continued. "Is that we are aware that the safety of Miss Potts is in jeopardy, but we will not tolerate disrespect from anyone to anyone, teacher or student."

"Then you should start with her," Tony pointed at Miss Jones as his dad pushed him back onto the chair once more. "I wish there was a camera in the classroom so you could see she's wrong."

"Actually, Mr. Stark, there is one and I am waiting for the encoding of it so we can review it." At Nara's words, Miss Jones visibly paled, and Tony's face lit up a bit. "However, I think Miss Jones is owed an apology from you."

Tony groaned in disapproval but finally nodded. He took in a deep breath and his eyes avoided his father's angry ones. He could already tell he was going to get yelled at when he arrived home. "I guess so."

"Finally," Miss Jones mumbled under her breath but whatever she was going to say after that died on her lips with one look from the principal. Tony's eyes fixated on the woman's as he spoke.

"Miss Jones, I'm sorry…" he began with a smile. "I'm sorry that you haven't picked up a chemistry book since you were carving stories on walls in caves, and have been teaching generations of kids the wrong material of compound analysis and representation."

Howard narrowed his eyes at his son before he turned to face Roberta and walked away from Tony. A simple glance from Stark Sr. was all it took for the woman to walk toward the young inventor and smack him upside the head. "That's enough, Tony."

Tony rubbed the back of his head and pursed his lips. It was one thing for his father to try to discipline him, but Roberta was a whole different story for Tony, and his father knew this. "Fine." Tony finally conceded. "I'm sorry, Miss Jones."

"Thank you, Tony," Principal Nara said before he turned to face Miss Jones. "Now, Miss Jones-Lowe, it is time for you to apologize to Tony for using his relationship with Pepper in an unethical way."

"WHAT?" It was Miss Jones' turn to yell. Tony stared at her with narrowed eyes, his mind repeating the name the principal had just used to address her. _Jones-Lowe? Is she related to Janet?_

"I'm not apologizing to that spoiled brat!" She pointed towards Tony, smoke almost coming out of her ears.

"I don't care," Tony uttered. "I won't lose sleep tonight if you don't apologize."

"Why you little…"

"Miss Jones, that's enough," Nara said as he stood up from the chair. "We will have a one-on-one discussion later, Loraine. Tony, I have one last question before you are free to go."

"What is it?"

"Did you and Miss Potts engage in sexual conduct during school hours, whether on or out of the campus' grounds, during lunch time?"

Tony could almost hear the FBI-issued gun cocking behind him.

"Not that is any of your business," Tony stood up from the chair and adjusted his backpack. "Or anyone else's for that matter," he added as he headed for the door. "But no, Pepper and I didn't do anything you might be thinking, or could have heard in the halls."

"Thank you, Mr. Stark." Principal Nara said with a nod to let Tony know he was dismissed. The last thing Tony heard behind him as the door closed was his father's voice saying that he was better off heading straight home.

* * *

**A/N:** What did I say? Reviews = Updates. Hope you liked it, and I'm not done with Miss Jones.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

In light of Pepper not responding to any of his texts or phone calls after he had left the school the day before – and he could not blame her for being mad at him after how he had treated her – and no one had come to the door at her apartment, Tony had decided to walk to school by himself. The walk had felt long and depressing, and with every step he took that brought him closer to the entrance of the Tomorrow Academy, the more his guilt grew. He now realized that, at the end of the day, _he_ had been the direct _and_ indirect cause of Pepper's problems, and instead of being supportive as Happy had been, he had snapped at her for no reason other than his own self-doubts.

_What the hell was I thinking talking to Pepper like that? _He thought to himself, his eyes staring at the ground as he neared the steps of the academy._ She would never lie to me, let alone cheat on me. I'm such an idiot; she should've slapped me harder. She should've punched me out cold._ The inventor's plan for the day was to catch the redhead before she went to class, or at least before Kevin tried to ask her out again so that he would not have to beat up the clueless boy, and then properly ask for her forgiveness.

_There I go again, freaking out about another guy. They should know by now that we're dating, right? Why are they still trying to ask us out? Can't these people take a hint? _Tony's face did not look up until he was close to Pepper's locker, and when did so it was only to see someone other than the girl he had been expecting to see there, standing by it. Tony recognized the man as one of the school's custodians, and he was carefully placing Pepper's destroyed belongings inside a bag. The genius walked closer to the janitor with curious eyes before he spoke.

"Hi, sir. Have you seen the girl this locker belongs to?"

"No one has come by," the man responded with a shrug. "I was told this locker is being released, anyway."

"Released? What does that mean?" Tony asked, having an idea of what the man meant and not liking at all the implication of the custodian's words.

"Principal Nara said it will no longer be used."

"Are…are they reassigning the student to another locker?"

The janitor shook his head. "More like to another school. I heard a student was expelled yesterday, and that she might not come back at all."

_She? Expelled?_ Tony swallowed hard. _Pepper got expelled?_

"No," Tony whispered as he took out his pod. He began texting Rhodey to ask for his location but a moment later said teenager rounded the corner in a hurry, almost slamming himself on the janitor but missing him by an inch, yet still causing the bag the man was holding in his hands to fall onto the floor, scattering everything in it in every direction.

"Sorry!" Rhodey quickly apologized. Both teenagers helped the janitor clean up after the mess James had caused before they rushed away from the attentive ears around them and spoke in whispering tones. "Have you heard, Tony? Did your Dad tell you? Did you hear what your loud mouth cost Pepper? I hope you're damn happy about it!"

Tony's shoulder slumped in remorse. "No, I haven't spoken to my Dad since yesterday. And no, I'm not happy, OK? I'm not. I know I screwed up, and I have to fix this. I have to undo it, somehow."

"Good luck with that." Rhodey crossed his arms over his chest. "Even with whatever donation you're probably thinking of making to the school, Pepper may not even have any say in whether she comes back or not."

"What do you mean? I can build the school a new campus if that's what it takes for her to come back."

Rhodey shook his head. "It's not that simple. My mom told me her mom came looking for her. She's here. She arrived last night."

"Her mom? Her mom is here? Doesn't she live in California?"

"She does…" Rhodey agreed before his face turned grim. "And so will Pepper."

"W-what?"

"Turns out Pepper's Dad and Mom have been fighting a lot recently; Pepper didn't know until yesterday. Her mom wants her to move in with her to California for college. She thinks that Virgil is doing a terrible job at watching over her. Virgil of course said that Pepper was safe and fine, but when her mom found out Pepper is Rescue and that she was fighting aliens…" Rhodey finished with a shrug and a shake of the head.

"Are you serious? You're joking, right? Tell me you're joking."

"I wish I was, man." Rhodey said in an honestly contrite tone. "Then, to make matters worse, the school called Pepper's mom yesterday when her Dad didn't answer right away, and they told her everything that happened – or the messed up version of it, actually."

"Oh, _crap_! Is that why she's not answering my calls?"

"Maybe her mom took away her phone, but she's also probably still mad at you for being a jerk to her."

Tony was taken aback. "How do you know about _that_?"

"The whole school knows that you and Pepper had a fight. Sadly, the rumor is that you guys fought because you caught her and Happy making out behind the stalls in the gym."

Tony groaned loudly and slammed his arms against his hips. "Are you KIDDING me? When did the school turn into _Big Brother: Pathetic Version_?"

"It has always been like this, Tony, but as long as Pepper was just your 'groupie,' she was left alone. Oh, and by the way, her mom heard about the 'making out' rumor, too, so she's definitely taking her away with her now. And, she'll probably ban her from dating you…maybe from even seeing you. I'm sure she's put two and two together, and knows you're Iron Man."

"But, but…she _can't _just take her away! Pepper has a say in what she wants to do or not!"

"No, Tony. _You_ and _I_ have a say; Pepper is _still_ seventeen."

Tony's eyes widened at Rhodey's words. Since the age difference between them was not significant, Tony had never actually put any thought into the fact that, technically, Pepper was younger than the both of them, even if only by a few months. "But, this is ridiculous!" Tony spat. "Didn't anyone tell Pepper's mom that she didn't do anything wrong? That it was all my fault?"

"Did you make it any easier on Pepper to use that argument?"

"I…didn't…I…" Tony groaned. "Screw this. I gotta see Pepper, _now_."

"What? It's a school day!"

"When has that stopped me before?" Tony responded with a sad grin, already on his way toward the exit of the school. He did not even wait to reach the door and began activating his suit, to the amazement of everyone present. As soon as he was out of the building, the genius took to the skies in the direction of Pepper's home.

xxxXXXxxx

The redhead covered her ears with both of her hands so as to not hear the screaming that was taking place outside her bedroom in the living room. She had locked herself up since last night, and even though she had wanted to go to school there was no way her arguing parents would let her out of the apartment. Her mom had taken away her pod and she had had no communication with anyone since her meeting with Principal Nara. And to the redhead, lack of communication was the worst punishment in the world.

_Not that I have anyone to talk to, anyway._ She thought, disappointed. She knew Rhodey and Happy were probably worried about her, and she would find a way to talk to them before her mom took her to California with her. However, what pained her most was thinking about Tony and how they had left things between them. She knew her mother would do anything in her power to prevent her from saying goodbye to any of her friends, and most especially to that _dangerous kid_, Tony Stark.

On the other hand, she had not forgotten Tony's attitude towards her. She could somewhat understand that with the history between her and Happy, Tony could have misunderstood Harold's intentions. However, it did not justify his hurtful words, and she was still trying to believe how ridiculously jealous Tony truly was. _I never saw him losing it over Whitney talking to another guy. Then again, she was always the one to chase Tony around._

When she heard another loud scream from her mother, Pepper rolled her eyes. She stood up from the bed and walked over to the window, tempted to just jump off and leave. She knew how to do it, too, having practiced when the Maggia had been chasing her, but she was also aware that running away would not solve anything, and maybe even give her mother more ammunition to take her away from New York.

_I wish they would just go out or something. I haven't eaten anything since yesterday! I'm hungry! _Pepper sighed as she pulled open the curtains to let in some sunlight but what she saw made her yelp and fall back on her butt.

Right outside her window, standing on the fire escape landing, was Iron Man. His fist was nearly on the window, as if he had been about to knock on the glass. When he realized the curtain had been opened, he pulled away his armored hand from the window and pressed the button in the middle of the ensemble to retract the suit. In a matter of seconds, the image of Iron Man was gone and was replaced by a sorrowful-looking Tony Stark.

Pepper slowly stood up from the floor and walked closer to the window but did not unlock it. She then crossed her arms in front of her chest and set her weight on her right leg, making her left hip rise up. Tony's eyes caught the slight move of her curves and stared at them for a second before he pressed his palms to the glass and leaned forward toward the window. _"Can I come in?"_ his muffled voice came through the glass.

Pepper's only response was the narrowing of her eyes.

"_Please, Pepper. Let me explain. Let me say I'm sorry."_

"What's stopping you from doing so right now?" The redhead asked with an indifferent tone.

Tony sighed, closed his eyes, hit his forehead on the glass a few times until he finally left it resting on the window. His palms were still firmly planted on the glass by the sides of his head, and he knew Extremis would allow him to easily break the window so he could barge inside if he so desired. However, he wanted Pepper to let him in willingly and not force his way in.

"Pepper, I know I don't deserve it, but please let me come inside. Let me apologize to you the way I should; the way you deserve. Let me do this right, for you."

When Tony did not feel the window budge, he exhaled deeply and his hands began to shake. What if the issue was beyond repair? What if Pepper was not being forced to go to California and she was willingly leaving after what he had done? What if she decided never to speak to him again? What if she never forgave him?

Tony felt something tug inside his chest as the final thought that crossed his mind echoed in his head once more. He was not sure what the feeling was but it hurt and it made breathing difficult. He swallowed down some of the unfamiliar feeling before he looked up to stare at the still unfazed redhead standing on the other side of the window.

"I was wrong, Pep; very wrong. I'm sorry for what I said and what I did to you. I'm sorry for getting you into this mess. I'm sorry I accused you of something you didn't do. I'm no better than Ms. Jones; I did to you the same thing she did. I don't know what came over me. I just…I…"

Tony gritted his teeth and closed his eyes again. His right hand formed a fist and he lightly tapped the window with it with every broken phrase he uttered. "I was a jerk…an idiot…I wasn't thinking…I was…I…" he licked his lips an inhaled deeply. He had not planned to confess to her what he had been feeling, but that had been before he had known about the possibility of never seeing her again. The tables had turned; the rules had changed, and the role he was being forced to carry out was not one of his liking. And yet he would play the game; he would bring down the veil that sometimes surrounded him and eat his pride if that was what it took for the girl to know he was sincerely regretful for what he had done.

"Jealous, Pepper," he finally said. "I was jealous…I didn't want Happy to touch you. I didn't want to see you with him. I know how it sounds, but…" His left hand turned into a fist. "But I couldn't help it. I don't want to see you with anyone else…ever again…not anyone else but me…"

He looked up to see that Pepper's mouth was slightly ajar, and that her arms had come down to rest on her sides but she was still standing in the same place as before. Tony's eyes landed on hers and he pressed his body closer to the window before he spoke again. "Don't leave for California, Pepper. Team Iron Man needs Rescue, and I…need you."

Pepper closed the distance between them and slowly unlatched the window. Tony took a step back and helped her raise it until there was nothing between them anymore. The inventor's trembling hands found hers, and when she did not pull away he tightened his grip on them. He pulled Pepper toward him as close as he could despite the wall by their legs, and guided her hands to surround him. He then took his hands to hold her face and it was then he noticed she had begun to cry.

"No, Pepper, don't. Please don't," he pulled her face toward his chest and held her in place with his arms. "We'll figure this out, OK? I'll talk to your Mom. I'll bribe her if I must."

"She doesn't like you, Tony," Pepper finally said, and Tony breathed a sigh of relief at hearing her voice directed at him again, this time with no anger in her tone. "She thinks you're bad for me. She thinks you'll hurt me; put me in danger again."

Tony scoffed. "I built you a suit of armor so that nothing happens to you. How is that putting you in danger? If anything that's protection – super protection, if you ask me."

Pepper giggled and pulled away from him. "Well, you'll need that 'super protection' when she finds out you're here."

"Pep, I just battled an entire army of alien lizards. Bring it on."

The redhead gave him a weak smile he immediately covered with his lips on hers.

* * *

**A/N:** Are those reviews I see? Yup, that's what they are! So, here is another chapter for you!


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"So, now what?" She asked him from her position inside her room. Neither of them dared to have Tony come inside her bedroom, knowing that the consequences of either angry parent walking in on them would not help their cause. Tony scratched the back of his neck as he thought about what to do, but the only thing he could think about at the moment was talking with the Potts' himself as the best course of action.

"How mad are they that you got expelled from the Academy?" The scientist asked to the surprise of the redhead.

"Expelled? Who said I got expelled? I didn't even get suspended, Tony. Didn't Rhodey tell you what happened?"

"What? How is that possible? Someone was cleaning up your locker today. He said that you had gotten expelled, and Rhodey was yelling at me for getting you in trouble."

"Uhm, no, he's wrong," Pepper shook her head. "Turns out the video proved that Miss Jones acted without cause, and it also turns out that the video cameras are not only in the classroom but in the halls."

"Really? Since when?"

"Apparently since ever," Pepper shrugged. "I got a little bit of a lecture when my dad saw that you and I were kissing by my locker, but it also helped find the person that messed with it: Janet Lowe; who, by the way, is the daughter of Miss Jones."

"I knew it!" Tony said. "I heard Principal Nara use her full last name and I knew there had to be a connection between them. So, what happened to Jones and her crazy daughter?"

"Janet got expelled, and Miss Jones was put on administrative leave until further notice."

"Really?"

Pepper nodded. "But my mom didn't let it go and had me taken out of the Academy."

"So, you're not enrolled there anymore?"

"No. She's transferring me to some school in California. Apparently she's been exchanging e-mails and speaking with my dad over the phone for weeks, and she got a court order to reverse the custody arrangements."

Tony groaned. "I'm sorry, Pepper. I didn't know you were going through this."

"I didn't either until last night. I mean, my dad had been acting strange and all, but I thought he was just stressed with work. I haven't heard from my mom in years, so I was surprised to see her arrive last night. I mean, she's my mom and I miss her, but she left me and my dad both when she walked out that door when I was just a baby. It's not that I wouldn't like to reconnect with her, but this is not the time or the way I would've liked it to be."

Tony nodded as he listened to Pepper's words. He himself did not have a mother, and if given the chance to see her again he would take it in a heartbeat. He missed his mother very much, and even though Pepper's was still alive and kicking, based on the story Rhodey had told him about how and why Pepper's parents got divorced when she was about two years old, Pepper was as motherless as he was, for all practical purposes.

"I'll do anything I can to have you stay, Pepper. And I mean _anything_. Does your mom take cash, checks or credit cards?"

"Tony!"

"I'm joking, Pep." He said as he kissed her forehead. "Now wait here. I'm going to knock on the front door."

"What? No, Tony! You can't be serious! My mom will kill you on the spot!"

"Think I should go back to the lab and get the Hulk Buster armor?"

"More like the Iron Monger."

Tony laughed. "I'll be fine, Pep. Just wait here, OK?"

"Not much else I can do."

"Don't pack your bags yet. I'm keeping you here with me."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Tony."

"I don't," he winked at her before he took a step back and the suit covered his body once more. He disappeared in a flash and Pepper was left with no choice but to close and lock the window again and pray that Tony did not make matters worse.

_I can hope, right?_

xxxXXXxxx

"I'm taking Patricia to California with me and that's final! The judge said I can!" Loretta Potts said with a wave of the court papers in her hand. "Now can you please tell her to start packing before I get the police here?" She pointed toward the hall that led to Pepper's room.

"Why do you even need the police, Loretta? We can work this out right now; you and me without shouting our lungs out."

"We _are_ working it out: by doing as I say!"

"Don't you care about what _she_ wants? She has a few weeks left of school. Let her finish it and graduate with her friends, and then you can take her to Timbuktu if that's what she wants."

"Do you think I'm stupid, Virgil? You know that even if she won't be 18 until two months from now if she graduates from high school then she doesn't have to listen to you or me."

"She's not a kid anymore, Loretta. She's grown up while you were away doing who-knows-what."

"I know damn well she's not a kid anymore. She was kissing that Stark boy in the halls like some sort of slut!"

"Loretta!"

"Well? What else can you call her, acting like that? You've ruined her life!"

"How exactly did I do that?" He challenged his ex-wife.

"Well, where do you want me to start?" She placed her hands on her hips. "She hangs around not one but _two_ boys and spends her days with them, probably doing drugs or worse. You can't tell me that she hasn't slept around with either of them, or maybe both, or maybe more." She motioned with her hands, referring to Happy Hogan. "The way all three of them defended her against the teacher and the principal is proof that they want to keep their whore around! Then, she's flying in a purple suit that the damned Stark kid made for her, putting her life at risk while you just sit idly and watch her blow up buildings and cities to ash. And then, she's swapping spit with the rich boy in front of everyone? Do you really not see why she needs to move in with me, right now?"

"You don't know what you're talking about. Firstly, I trust Patricia to choose her friends wisely, and I happen to personally know Roberta and Howard; they've raised good kids, and I know both James and Tony respect Patricia; and so does Harold, by the way. The suit of armor…I'll give you that. I didn't know that was going on, but in less than a month she will be free to do as she pleases, and I'd rather she know that she can trust me with the missions she goes on than leave me in the dark about them. I'm not one to tell her not to be in danger; I do the same for a living. And, about her dating Tony, well, as much as I hate seeing my little girl with any boy, she's old enough to decide who she wants to go out with."

"Oh, I see what you're doing. You're just using her age to remove all responsibility from yourself, huh? If she makes her own choices you don't have to feel guilty about hem when they blow up in her face."

Whatever retort Virgil had prepared to say evaporated in his mouth when the knock on the door was heard by both fighting adults. Virgil rubbed his face with his hands and walked toward the door. He took a deep breath as he used the peephole to see who was standing outside, and then cursed under his breath when he realized it was none other than Tony Stark.

_What is he doing here?_ Virgil asked himself but then remembered that Pepper had not gone to school. Loretta and he had gone out in the morning to pick up the court order at around the time Tony had shown up the day before to pick up Pepper for school. He was surprised that Pepper had not opened the door for him, but he was not at all shocked that the kid was skipping school to come check on his girlfriend's status.

When Tony knocked on the door again Virgil turned back to face Loretta who had a deep scowl engraved on her face. "You better be nice, Loretta. Act like an adult, OK?"

"What do you mean?" The woman asked but her question was answered when the door opened to reveal the blue-eyed boy she despised so much. "Oh, my God! How do you have the nerve to show up at my home after what you did?"

"Your home?" Virgil shook his head. "This hasn't been your home for 16 years."

"Uhm, is this a bad time?" Tony asked, playing the part of confusion he knew he was supposed to have. "I just wanted to know if Pepper is alright; she wasn't at school today."

"She's in her room," Virgil offered. "Why don't you take her out of here for a while?"

"He's not taking her anywhere!" Loretta spat. "Get out of here, right now!"

Tony held his ground and stared at the woman that had given birth to his Pepper. She had the same hair color as Pepper, and she could have been an older version of her, but he could already tell the ginger had not inherited her attitude from the mom's side of the family. "Is there a problem, Mrs. Potts? I'd be happy to clarify what happened yesterday in case you haven't heard that Pepper did nothing wrong."

"Oh, please! Like anything that comes out of your mouth is the absolute truth! Who gave you permission to build my daughter a flying weapon? What is she, your guinea pig for your gadgets?"

Tony bit his tongue. "The armor that Pepper has is state-of-the-art, better than mine, even. I wouldn't have let her put it on if I wasn't sure it was fit to keep her safe."

"Tony, you don't have to get dragged into this," Virgil said as he pushed Tony in the direction of Pepper's room. "I'm sorry you had to walk into this, but you don't have to listen to it anymore."

"The hell he doesn't!" Loretta shrieked. "He's not getting near Patricia ever again. Don't make me put a restraining order on you, Stark."

"You mean like the one Pepper is going to put on you when she becomes a legal adult?" Tony spat back before he was aware of what he had said.

Loretta glared at Tony. "No, like the one you're going to have to deal with when I turn you in for child abuse!"

"C-child abuse?" Tony bellowed. "What are you talking about?"

"Loretta, stop this!" Virgil began. "This is insane!" The man uttered as he tried to stand between the woman and the scientist when he realized they were getting too close for comfort. He knew Tony would not physically hurt Loretta, but he could not claim the same for his ex-wife.

"You know exactly what I mean. You're 18 years old and she is underage. I can have you arrested in a flash."

"Are you kidding me?" Tony threw his hands in the air, his voice louder than before. He knew his intentions walking inside the home had been to rectify the situation, but it was clear to him that Loretta had no interest in hearing any other side of the story but her own. "She'll be 18 in two months!"

"It doesn't matter under the law. You can ask that lawyer friend of yours if you don't believe me."

"Are you crazy, Loretta? That law only applies to statutory rape!"

"What makes you think that this boy hasn't done just that with Patricia?"

"WHAT?" Both men yelled in unison.

"Wasn't that the rumor, Virgil? That they left school during lunch to screw around? It was embarrassing to hear it all over the place!"

"We didn't do anything! How many times do I have to repeat this?" Tony yelled back.

"As many as a judge asks you to," Loretta answered emotionlessly before she exhaled loudly. She then walked up grab her purse that was set on the table on her way to the front door. She grabbed the handle and held onto it tightly before she turned around to face Virgil and Tony one more time before she left.

"I'll see you in court, Mr. Stark," she said coolly before she closed the door behind her as she left. Virgil was in shock at what he had just seen and heard, and he expected Tony to be as frightened with the entire situation as he was, but when the FBI agent's eyes landed on the young genius, Tony had a look of pure rage on his face.

"We'll see about that," Tony mumbled before he turned on his heels and headed to Pepper's room.

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah, I get off making these people suffer. Although, it is not as bad as what I did to them in my other story: Broken. Hey! Maybe you'll want to read that too! ;)


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Tony took out his pod from his pants pocket on his way to Pepper's room while Virgil followed behind him. The inventor pressed speed dial 4 on the phone, pressed his ear to the speaker and waited for the call to be answered. As the phone rang, he knocked on Pepper's door, and the redhead, who had been listening to everything that had been said, opened the door immediately and stared at Tony with a terrified look on her face.

_"Roberta Rhodes,"_ Tony heard on the other end of the line. He grabbed Pepper's hand and pulled her out of her room, taking them both to the living room while a still speechless Virgil followed the couple to the front part of the home.

"Mrs. Rhodes, it's Tony. I need your help."

_"What is it Tony? Did you beat up somebody for Pepper? I told you not to do that!"_

"No, it's not that…well, at least not physically, I didn't."

_"Oh, God. What did you do?"_

The inventor continued holding Pepper's hand as he paced around the room and told Roberta the story of what had just occurred. Roberta remained silent for a moment and then asked to be placed on speaker phone.

_"Virgil, can you hear me,"_ the lawyer asked.

"Yes, Roberta. I'm here."

_"Alright. Listen, we have to act fast. Do you remember –or better yet, do you still have the child custody agreement you and Loretta signed when your divorce was final?"_

"Yes, it's somewhere in my office."

_"Can you go get it, please? I need a copy of it right now."_

"OK," the FBI man said already on his way to his office to fetch the required document.

_"Tony, are you there?"_

"Yes, we're here. Pepper and I are here."

_"OK. Did you guys have sex?"_

"NO!" They both answered in unison.

_"OK, no need to yell, I'm just checking. Rumor control is important."_

"I have it," Virgil said when he reentered the room. "I only have a hard copy, though."

"I'm on it," Tony said, reluctantly letting go of Pepper's hand and using the pod to scan the document. Once he completed the task, he emailed the form to Roberta who gave it a quick scan.

_"Huh…this is pretty unusual for a custody agreement."_

"Unusual as in illegal?'

_"No, just unusual."_

"What do you mean?"

_"Well, usually custody agreements are valid until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is latest."_

"But?"

_"But this one says that as soon as Pepper graduates high school, she will become emancipated regardless of age."_

"Yes, since there was no child support attached to the agreement, the judge approved that Pepper could make her decision of whether she wanted to live with her mom once she graduated high school."

_"What about alimony?"_

"There is none; the right to alimony was lost when Loretta broke the prenup."

_"Adultery?"_

"Yes."

Pepper's mouth hung. "My mom cheated on you?"

Virgil looked down and away from Pepper's face. That was the only answer Pepper needed.

"Goodie!" Pepper rolled her eyes. "This just gets better and better. Tony, can you, like, not hear this? I don't want you to get the wrong idea about the women in my family."

_"I have an idea,"_ Roberta said, sensing the tension in the room needed to be broken. _"Tony, can you remove me from speaker phone?"_

"Yeah, one sec." Tony did just as he was asked but when he pressed the phone back onto his ear, Roberta asked to speak with Virgil. Tony did as told and handed the phone to the man before Virgil ushered them back into Pepper's room.

Pepper gave her father one final glance before she and Tony left the living room. The door to Pepper's room was left slight ajar, not truly with the intention of listening in to Virgil's conversation with Roberta, but mostly just in case Loretta decided to return to the apartment to catch the couple in _the act_.

"This is turning into a nightmare, Tony." The redhead moaned in frustration while she walked to her bed and sat on the edge of it. Tony walked up to her and sat next to her on the bed, patting her right knee with his left hand in what he hoped she understood it to be a sympathetic gesture.

"All families have fights, Pepper. You should see me and my dad argue. We do it much worse than your folks do."

"Maybe, but your arguments with your dad are probably about science stuff and who has the bigger screwdriver or some genius' things like that."

Tony snickered and looked down at Pepper's slouching form. "Bigger screwdriver? You know that sounds awful, right, Pep?"

Pepper narrowed her eyes at him, not immediately understanding what he had meant, but the moment her eyes widened and her face went red, Tony let out a loud laugh. "Jeez, Tony!" She hit him playfully on his left shoulder. "You're not making it easier for anyone to believe we aren't doing it."

"Doing what?" He asked, feigning innocence.

"The thing that me and Happy used to do all the time while no one was around." She jested and when Tony pouted she knew her joke had had the desired result. "I'm kidding, Stark. Chill out."

Tony could not hold his angered state much longer when she flashed a smile at him. She then stared down at the floor between her feet, thinking about what she had just found out about her mother and father's relationship. "I can't believe she did that to my dad. All this time I thought she had just gotten tired of worrying about my dad being in danger all the time when he went out on missions, but she cheated on him."

"These things happen too, Pepper."

"Perhaps, but they weigh more on you when it's someone you know that did them."

"It wasn't your fault, or his…infidelity is a choice, and your mom chose to do that to your dad. Whatever her reasons are or how much she thinks her actions were justified, cheating is never anybody else's fault other than the persons who commit it."

"I'm never cheating on you, Tony." She sighed loudly. "I'm not my mom."

Tony leaned down to hug Pepper's waist from the side and rested his chin on her hunched back. "Don't even believe for a second that I think that about you. And you can expect the same from me. I'd rather break up with you first before I cheat on you."

Pepper scoffed. "That's supposed to be comforting?"

"Yeah?" Tony hesitated. "It isn't?"

"Immediately? No. But, long term…" Pepper let her voice trail. They remained silent for a moment, each lost in their thoughts until Pepper spoke up again. "Tony, what are we going to do if I have to leave? Do you think maybe we should just break up, even if I stay? I mean, this is causing everyone a huge headache they can all live without."

Tony closed his eyes and held onto Pepper's waist even tighter. He took a moment to inhale the smell of her shampoo and natural scent as if he needed it to order his thoughts. Pepper was becoming uncomfortable with the silence so she shifted her position to stare at Tony who was by now off her back and stared back at her with calmed eyes. "I don't want to rush into making that decision, Pep. Whatever happened yesterday and today is unfortunate, and there was no way we could've seen it coming, but they are just a result of people blowing things out of proportion: Janet, Miss Jones, your mom…even me. We're all guilty of what you're going through but that shouldn't be any indication that it'll always be like that for us."

"That's sweet and all, Tony, but that's not what I asked."

"No, I don't want us to break up, even if your mom drugs you and takes you to California in the middle of the night. We'll find a way to make it work. I can promise you that."

"Like you promised not to mess this up with my mom?" She kindly reminded him.

"It couldn't be helped." He shrugged.

"I know. I haven't spoken to my mom that often; she's always so busy. I'm surprised she's here, to be honest. She never did show any kind of interest in what I was doing before."

"Maybe this is her way to get back at your dad?"

"Maybe, but it's a stupid way to do it. She's gonna make me move to California when I can leave just a few weeks later. It makes no sense at all to me."

Tony rubbed his chin with his fingers as he thought about Pepper's words. Even though Virgil and Loretta had been arguing about Pepper's custody for the past few weeks or maybe even months, it was rather strange that she had only started to try to get Pepper to live with her. The genius could not help to think that there was something that Loretta was not telling them. "Maybe she wants to sue me to get money?"

Pepper shook her head. "I doubt it. She has a marketing agency in Malibu with some very high-paying clients."

"She's a marketing agent?"

"Yeah, she issues PR statements for celebrities and stuff like that."

"That's ironic," Tony chuckled. "For a PR person, she has no PR abilities with her own family at all."

"That's mom," Pepper agreed. "God, I'm still so hungry," the redhead's hands flew to her rumbling stomach before she stood up from the bed. "Let me go to the kitchen and finding something to eat, OK?"

"I can get you something?"

"Nah, I'll have some leftovers from last night. Want any?"

Tony shook his head. "I'm fine. Do you need help?"

"Nope. Wait right here and don't get anyone else pissed off, please."

Tony made a cross sign on his chest with his right index finger. "I promise."

The redhead shook her head in mock disapproval at him before she exited the room. Virgil was completely engrossed in the conversation that he did not hear her walk into the kitchen. The kitchen was not a room on its own as it had a bar from which one could see the rest of the open plan where the living room, dining room and entrance sat, but the obvious opening was foreign to the agitated man.

"No, I have no problem signing a consent order for Pepper to date Tony. I like the kid." Pepper heard her father say and the words brought a smile to her face as she slowly opened the refrigerator to take the leftover takeout her parents had had last night. "But, how good would that do? Can't the state still prosecute him?"

Virgil remained silent as he listened to Roberta's advice while Pepper fixed herself a plate of leftovers and placed them inside the microwave. She set the timer for two minutes and waited patiently as the nuking took place. The FBI man sighed loudly and rubbed his left temple as he continued to hear whatever Roberta was telling him, and Pepper could not help but wonder how much trouble they were truly in.

"No, she doesn't know. I was going to tell her after graduation but that's out, now."

The last phrase caught Pepper's attention, so she muted the microwave sounds so that it would not rat her out. She walked closer to the entrance of the kitchen (the only place not entirely visible from the living room where Virgil stood), and paid attention to the conversation taking place close by.

"Everyone thinks so too because they both have red hair, which is why we chose her from all the options we had. We didn't want her to think she wasn't our daughter."

Pepper took a hand to cover her mouth in surprise. She did not want to jump to conclusions about what was being said, but it was painfully obvious to her that there was at least one more major secret that had been kept from her all this years.

"That's why the court order is like that. She can go back to her real parents whenever she wants, if we knew who they were and where they live, anyway. We never got to meet them; it was the agency's policy."

Pepper's hunger immediately disappeared, and when Virgil turned around to grab a pen and paper from the coffee table, a pair of shocked eyes stared back at him.

"Pepper…did you…have you…?"

Her storming out of the home was her only response.

* * *

**A/N:** Like my stories? Read Spanish? Go check out my new one: Kilómetros. You'll love it!


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

To say that the girl was fast was an understatement, and no one had imagined how easily she could conceal her location if she truly wanted to. Then again, she had proven in the past to be very crafty when it came to matters of fighting and espionage – and even if the situation at hand was neither – she had still managed to lose two men. By the time Virgil had run toward the hall and then returned to the apartment to call for Tony, Pepper was nowhere to be found. Even in his Iron Man suit Tony was having a difficult time locating her; she had thrown away her cell phone in a trash can inside the apartment complex, and the thunderstorm that had appeared out of nowhere did not help matters any.

_Where are you, Pepper?_ Tony asked himself repeatedly. At first he had been certain that his advanced suit of armor would make the search for the upset girl a million times easier. Now that the night had fallen, and that he, Howard, Rhodey, Roberta AND Virgil had been searching for her without much luck, he was not so sure anymore that all the tech in the world could help find her. _Why did you have to run off, Potts?_

The inventor could not imagine the shock of finding out that the people you have been calling Mom and Dad are anything but, and he could definitely _not_ imagine what it would be to find out that piece of information on the same day you find out your "Mom" cheated on your "Dad." And also around the same time that your schoolmates think you had sex with your boyfriend during lunch, and that your so-called boyfriend accuses you of cheating on him with your ex-boyfriend, and you find out your mom is dragging your butt to another state, and that people think you were expelled from school for something you did not do.

_That's just fuckin' dandy_, Tony thought, unable to find other words to express his anger over the entire situation. _This is the worst day ever!_

Or so he had thought.

"_Tony? Any sign of her?" _The scientist suddenly heard Rhodey's voice through the communication system in his helmet. _"Virgil is trying to pull some strings with the police, but so far no luck. We're just lucky her mom hasn't found out she's gone."_

"No sign yet, and don't jinx us, Rhodey."

"_Tony?"_ A second voice came through the communicator: it belonged to Tony's dad who had taken to the skies with one of the spare Iron Man suits. _"Roberta and I are going to call it for the night. Virgil is also returning home. We're hoping she'll come back on her own."_

"And what if she doesn't?"

"_If she's not back by the morning, we'll go out again. If she's not back by noon, then the police can help us out."_

"If it's all the same to you, I'm going to look for a while longer." Tony said, and both Howard and Rhodey knew said response was coming.

"_I ain't gonna stop you, man,"_ Rhodey began. _"But don't overdo it or you won't be able to help us out tomorrow if she doesn't come back."_

"I know," Iron Man responded. "I'm out," he added before he cut communication with Howard and James, not at all interested in what else they had to say. As another bout of thunder and lightning hit dangerously close to him, he decided to land on top of the nearest tall structure to shield himself under a wooden roof. Once his iron-clad feet touched the ground, he pulled up a map inside his helmet of the locations they had searched so far.

Having five people search for just one seemed as overkill, but after none of them had had any luck in locating her, five people did not seem enough for the young billionaire. Up to now, all common and uncommon locations they could have thought about had been searched and marked: the school, the mall, the train station, the subway, the library, Stark Tower, Roberta's home, the old armory, the new lab, and even the hotel where Loretta was staying. Devices had been left behind in all of these locations that could send live feeds of them and their surroundings in case Pepper showed up.

Tony could not understand how easily and quickly she had disappeared on them. She clearly did not want to be found since she had left her cell phone behind, and she had so far not used any of her cards anywhere. The inventor was now faced with the realization that he had relied so much on using technology to get him out of trouble that when there was no track of it on someone, he was at a loss of what else to do.

"Dammit, Pepper! Please be alright." It did not escape him that at the end of the day this was still New York City and it was not the safest place in the world for a pretty, young girl to be out there in the middle of the night by herself –regardless of how feisty Pepper could sometimes act. He was painfully aware that her antics would not suffice against a group of men, or even one armed assailant. The idea that she could become a victim of a violent crime made him cringe as well the guilt that overcame him at thinking that she had gotten herself into trouble under his watch.

_Just as yesterday, and every other time before._

In fact, now that he thought about it, despite the fact that Pepper had gotten into constant trouble way before he even came around into her life, it had only been for trying to arrest people when she was obviously not legally authorized to do so. It was clear as day that most of the trouble she had gotten herself into in the last two years had been partly due to the appearance of him in her life. No matter how dangerous a mission was, she was always there for him, in the field and in the lab, sometimes until the wee hours of the morning, doing his research, testing his software, and even dragging his ass to bed when he pushed himself too hard. And, how had he repaid her for her loyalty? With an accusation of infidelity and the inability to comfort her when she needed him the most.

_I'm the worst boyfriend ever._

Pepper needed a friend, a shoulder to cry on, her own hidden base – a safe house. She needed…

_Oh, nuts!_

The memory of a recent conversation between them hit him like a ton of bricks, and for a brief moment he felt as if he were the person with lowest IQ in the world; or just the worst boyfriend in the history of mankind, all over again.

_I know where she is_, he told himself, and with this last thought in mind he sped away from the building in the direction of an abandoned structure he and Pepper had visited recently.

xxxXXXxxx

She did not even hear him land or approach her; she was too lost in her own thoughts to realize what has happening around her. Her body was cold and wet, and her teeth were chattering uncontrollably. Whether it was due to her sobs or the rain, she was not sure. She had not meant to be caught in the middle of the thunderstorm in the abandoned building but the wind had blown away the piece of wood with which she had propped open the door, leaving her stuck on the godforsaken roof. The fire escape on the side of the building was rusted beyond repair, so she did not dare to use it only to plummet to her death.

His presence became known to her only when the water stopped coming down on her face when he stood above her, all suited up. He pulled back the faceplate and stared down at her with a look of partial relief. He crouched down on the floor next to her and pulled her up from the fetal position she was in on the ground. She let him handle her in any way he saw fit; she was too upset to even care. He picked her up in his arms and walked over to the locked door. With a well-placed kick of his booted foot the door gave way to the shelter inside. Tony knew it was not the best place to hide from the storm but he wanted to check up on her first before he took her back home.

Once they were both away from the storm he put his faceplate back on and scanned her body for any injuries, but all he found was that she was developing a fever, probably from being out in the cold. "Everyone's worried about you," Iron Man told her. "Especially your dad."

"You mean my _adopted_ dad?" She spat with more venom that she thought she could muster when speaking about the man that had raised her, practically by himself, since she was just a baby. "Did my fake mom ask about me, too?"

"She doesn't know you ran off, and she doesn't need to find out about it, either."

"I'm not going back home, Tony. You can forget about that."

"Well, _you_ can forget about staying here. You need to get out of those clothes and get dry."

Pepper huffed at his response and tried to jump off his arms but there was not much she could do against his grip. "Let me go, Tony."

"Only if it is on a warm bed, in dry clothes, and after you eat something."

"What the hell is wrong with you, Stark?" She yelled at him in a way she hardly ever did. "You can't just tell me what to do anytime you feel like it! I don't have to listen to you!"

Tony did not even flinch and he put her down, surprising the redhead that he appeared to give up so fast on his intention to care for her. He then pushed the button in the middle of the suit and in just seconds the armor disappeared. "You're right. You don't have to listen to me, Pepper."

"That's right, I don't!" She pointed at him with her index finger, her face turned into a scowl despite the tears that were streaming down her face. "So why don't you just take your perfect suit and fly off to your dad, who IS your _real_ dad, and be happy in your real home, with your real family, and all the other good things that you have in your life?"

"I could," he shrugged. "But one of those good things in my life is standing right here in front of me, and I'm not leaving her behind."

Pepper closed her eyes and her hands balled into fists. Why was he making it so difficult for her? Did he not understand what she was going through? Did no one understand what it felt like to find out you were on your own? To find out that the life you thought you had was suddenly just pulled from under you?

"Go away, Tony. Let me be."

"Is that really what you want?"

"Y-yes." She said as steadily as she could, angrily wiping tears from her face.

"And if I leave, then what? Are you going to call me?"

"No." She answered immediately. "I'm not going to call you."

"Ever?" he asked, and when she shook her head at him, he spoke again. "Then, I'm staying."

"NO!" She walked closer to him. "I didn't ask you to come find me, you know?"

"But you _wanted_ me to find you; otherwise you wouldn't have come here, where you knew I could find you: to _our_ hideout."

Pepper looked away from him and bit her lip. He was right, mostly. The first place that had come to mind for her to hide in had been here, the place where they had come up with their plan against the school drama; the place they had informally labeled as their own. She had even called it their safe house, even if just to put some detective spin into the ridiculous situation they were facing at school.

"It's OK to be upset, Pepper. But it's not OK to push away the ones that you love, and the ones that love you back."

"But," she chocked. "I don't have anyone. I have nothing! My real parents gave me up for adoption, and my adopted parents got divorced. My fake dad spends half the time on missions, and I know sometimes not even you and Rhodey can stand me. No one has ever really wanted me around, I…"

"I want you, Pepper. Don't I count for something?"

Pepper finally looked up and faced him. "For now, Tony; you want me for now, but later... If I wasn't at your level before, now that I know I'm not even who I thought I was… Just, please understand. I don't deserve to be with you. I'm just a sad little girl that has been passed around."

Tony lifted his hands to cup her face, but she took a step back. He took a second step closer to her, but she took another step away from him. When he tried for a third time and the results where the same, Tony groaned at her actions; his patience was now running thin. "What do you plan to do now? Leave home forever? Forget the man that cared for you all this time? Forget about Rhodey? Forget about us?"

"So I don't have it all figured out…"

"You don't have ANYTHING figured out, Potts! I thought that if I let you vent just now that you would calm down enough to see that you're wrong! Clearly, I was mistaken. You're acting like a child!"

"Like a child? Did you seriously come all the way over here to yell at me, again?"

"No! I came here to take you back with me, but you won't even let me touch you!"

"Why should I let you? Why should I always do what you want?"

"I thought we wanted the same thing, Pepper. Why can't you wrap your head around the fact that we're in this together now; more than we were before? I don't want to leave without you, but I want you to come willingly. I want you to _want_ to be with me, despite all the crap that has been happening around us."

"I…I do, Tony, but… my mom is going to get you arrested, and the entire school is harassing you because of us, and now you're here wasting your time with me."

"Dammit, Pepper!" He threw his hands in the air. "What do you want me to do? Break up with you? Will that make you happy? Is that what you want? This doesn't have to be this hard, you know? Your dad is worried sick about you; we all are. We want you back, Pepper. We spent the entire day looking for you: me, my dad, Rhodey, Roberta and your dad. They're ready to start again in a few hours. Do you want me to just leave you alone and tell them you don't care enough about them to come back? Is that what you want me to do for you?"

"No."

"Do you want me to get on my knees and beg?"

"Of course not!"

"Then what, Pepper? What do you want?"

"I DON'T KNOW! I… I just want everything to go back to the way it was a few days ago. Before my mom showed up. Before I found out I'm adopted. Before the trouble at school. Before you told me that…that you… before we…"

Tony closed his eyes as he pressed on the button on his chest and the armor covered his body once more. He did not need to hear the rest of her sentence; he understood what she had tried to say, and it pained him to no end. He silently stared at her for a moment, taking in her form in case he never saw her again. "You don't have to go back home tonight if you don't want to. You can stay at the temple and decide what to do tomorrow."

Pepper looked down at herself. She was starting to feel dizzy and she was soaking wet. She really had nowhere else to go, and she could tell that Tony had finally given up. "Alright," she accepted. "I'll stay at the temple, but just for tonight."

Tony did not say anything else to her but opened his arms to welcome her in his embrace. The flight back to the temple was silent, and the only communication that left Iron Man during the travel was a text message to everyone else telling them that Pepper was alright, and to not wait up for either of them for the next few days.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Pepper walked out from the mini shower room Tony had installed in the temple after repeated complaints from the other two youngsters of his lack of hygiene when he worked day and night, and she was surprised to see the scientist packing up his belongings and getting ready to leave. Ever since the trio had spent one too many long nights working with the crazy genius, both Rhodey and Pepper had left behind in the lab an emergency bag of clothes for each. While the clothes did not include pajamas, it did include a change of underwear which Pepper desperately needed after being caught in the rain, and with a borrowed t-shirt and sweat pants from the inventor, she was now set to rest for the night.

Now that she had gotten out of her wet clothes and had had time to think, she realized how stupidly she had behaved and how much trouble she had caused them all. This was not the time to be acting like the spoiled brat that had pranked her at school; none of her friends and family deserved the headache she had put them through, and she felt extremely ashamed of her actions. She knew she had to profusely apologize to all of them at some point, but the one person that deserved it the most right now was standing before her, showing every intention to leave her alone. She walked closer to the boy when he put on his Iron Man backpack and stared at the floor as she spoke. "Tony?"

The genius did not spare her a glance and walked to the closest chair, shoes in hand, sat in it and began putting them on as he spoke. "I left you a bowl of hot soup in the room along with some pain and fever medicine, and a bottle of water. Take them all before you go to bed, and if you feel sick at any point during the night, have the computer call me and I'll let your dad know you need to see a doctor. Rescue can take you back home in a flash, even if you're not feeling well; she can drive on her own."

The way in which he had just spoken to her, as if she was just a random guest in his lab, left the girl feeling cold and rejected. She swallowed hard and felt tears come to her eyes when she realized why he was acting this way. Her mind flooded with the memory of what she had told him just moments ago while still in the safe house, and only now did she comprehend the implications of her words.

_"Dammit, Pepper!" He threw his hands in the air. "What do you want me to do? Break up with you? Will that make you happy? Is that what you want? This doesn't have to be this hard, you know? Your dad is worried sick about you; we all are. We want you back, Pepper. We spent the entire day looking for you: me, my dad, Rhodey, Roberta and your dad. They're ready to start again in a few hours. Do you want me to just leave you alone and tell them you don't care enough about them to come back? Is that what you want me to do for you?"_

_ "No."_

_ "Do you want me to get on my knees and beg?"_

_ "Of course not!"_

_ "Then what, Pepper? What do you want?"_

_ "I DON'T KNOW! I… I just want everything to go back to the way it was a few days ago. Before my mom showed up. Before I found out I'm adopted. Before the trouble at school. Before you told me that…that you… before we…"_

Pepper shut her eyes when she felt the tears begin to cascade down. She had, for all intents and purposes, told him that she was better off not being with him. She had said, in not so many words, that she wanted to go back to the time when they were not together, as if she actually considered the start of their romantic involvement to have been the event that had unraveled her streak of bad luck. She had not meant to say that; she did not believe it to be true, but in her moment of frustration it had come out sounding that way.

"Tony?" she tried again.

"Feel free to leave whenever you want. I won't be back for a while," he said, recalling the response he had received to the text message he had sent to the worrying adults. He had not planned to stay with her all the time, but Roberta's orders to leave immediately had been as clear as day.

"But, Tony?"

"Roberta thinks it's best if we don't see each other for a while. And I think it's best if we don't see each other anymore."

"TONY!" Pepper yelled in panic. "That's not…I…Will you _please_ listen to me?"

The inventor, who had just finished putting on his shoes and was still not looking at her, began walking toward the front door. "I've listened to enough from you, Patricia. I'm done playing this game with you."

Pepper's eyes widened at hearing her birth name coming from him, and when he did not stop his trek toward the door she ran toward him, circled around his form and stood between the exit and the boy. Tony narrowed his eyes at her before he pressed the button on his backpack, became covered in the suit and flew in the direction of the ceiling exit chute. The redhead gasped and ran toward the main control panel and put in the code for the lockdown mode of the armory just in time to keep Tony from leaving the lab, but only for a little while.

"Lockdown override code: Alpha-Charlie-Juliet-Five-Niner." Iron Man uttered and the lockdown reversal sequence began. Pepper knew she only had a few seconds before the chute opened again, so she ran toward the flying form of Iron Man and held onto one of his iron-clad feet with both of her hands.

"Tony, please wait." She begged. "Don't leave yet. I'm sorry, Tony. I'm really sorry." The tears were now covering her face.

"Let go, Pepper."

"No! Please! Stay."

"I can't. I shouldn't. I don't want to."

"Tony, please. Please, don't do this. Let me say something," she sniffed. "I know I screwed up and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for pushing you away! I don't want us to split up! I don't want us not to see each other again!"

"Let go." He deadpanned.

Pepper closed her eyes and dug her nails into the armor. "NO! I WON'T!"

"I don't want to hurt you." He warned as the repulsor on his boot began charging up to release himself from her tight grip. "Let go, Pepper. I won't ask you again."

Pepper opened her eyes when she felt the bottom of the boot begin to heat up and looked up at the cold face of iron staring back at her. "Why are you doing this?" She asked as she reluctantly let go of his foot when it got too hot for her.

"Because this is what you wanted me to do. Goodbye, Pepper." Tony said in his disguised voice before leaving a streak of white on his way out of the armory.

xxxXXXxxx

Three days later, on Saturday, and after not communicating with anyone, Tony finally returned to the armory. As he had expected, Pepper was no longer in there, and she had cleaned up the place as she always did when she had the chance, which added more fuel to the fire of his regret. As soon as his feet landed on the floor of the main room and he removed his suit of armor, the inventor felt renewed guilt creeping up in him. He took off his backpack and threw it inside its compartment and sat on one of the stools.

It had taken him an entire day to get over his anger, and a second day to argue with himself about what he needed to do now. It was not until the third day, however, on his way back to the armory that Tony recognized that he had been as responsible for the doom of their short relationship as Pepper had been. He had initially thought he really, really, _really_ liked Pepper as more than just a friend, but he now realized that he actually loved the girl, and he did not even know when it had happened.

Yet, now that he thought about it, he should have known it a lot sooner than just now. His heart still beat as fast as the day he had placed her hand on his chest to show her how she made him feel. His hands still sweat in anticipation at knowing she was around, and he could still feel his face heat up at the thought of sharing a kiss or a hug with her. He was aware that these were normal reactions to any new relationship, but he had never experienced them with Whitney, and with Pepper he experienced them tenfold.

He was, to say the least, irrevocably and pathetically head over heels for her. There was no other explanation of why he had felt so betrayed by her when she had tried fleeing at the first sign of trouble between them, or why he had lost it when he had seen Happy's hands all over her, or why he had told her he intended to stay with her for a long time. Tony covered his face with his hands when the memory of his own words returned to him and feeling like the biggest jerk in the whole wide world.

"_I didn't know you cared so much about those stupid unwritten rules, Pepper."_

_ "I don't, but that doesn't mean they don't apply, or that everyone else doesn't care for them either and that they won't be trying to enforce them, or that I won't be feeling the effects of them. It's a fact of life…or at least at school. But, hey! They'll only bother me until you and I break up or when school's over; whichever comes first." She finished with a shrug and a weak smile._

_ "Then I guess it's going to be a long last month at school, huh? Or a very long life, if those rules still apply after graduation." Tony said with a soft smile as he waited for the implicit meaning of his words to befall the redhead. She narrowed her eyes at him as his words repeated in her mind, and once she understood what he had meant, she blushed._

"What is the matter with us?" he mumbled to himself. "What are we doing wrong?"

"I'd say: everything, but that's just my opinion," the voice of his friend said from the main entrance of the lab. "I told you I was going to hurt you if you fucked this up, and I will beat the crap out of you when you don't look like you lost a fight against Killer Shrike."

Tony looked up to stare at Rhodey as he walked closer to the scientist with an unreadable look on his face. "Is it just you here, or is Mr. Potts outside with a shotgun?"

"It's not loaded." Rhodey shrugged, indifferently.

"Woppedi-fucking-doo," the genius said sarcastically and waited for Rhodey to start yelling at him. But when he did not and his demeanor did not change, Tony spoke again. "Aren't you gonna lecture me? Ask me what I did? Tell me I'm the worst boyfriend and friend, ever?"

"Maybe later, but not now. I'm only here to drop this off to you," he handed Tony a sealed envelope. "And to tell you that, other than me, nobody blames you for what happened."

Tony grabbed the envelope from Rhodey and stared at it blankly for a second. There was no address on it, and the only name on the front was his own, written in the nice cursive penmanship of his one and only. "Blame me for what? What happened? Did something happen to Pepper?"

Rhodey looked away from his friend's worried face, and he wondered why the heck he was always tasked with the job of giving Tony bad news about Pepper. He understood that while no one truly pointed the finger at Tony for what had happened, none of them had wanted to break the news to the young man; half of them because they were still in shock, and the other half because they did not want to break Tony's heart. In the end, it was always Rhodey who had to walk the walk and give his best and oldest friend a metaphorical – and sometimes physical – slap in the face.

"Read it. Understand it. And call me when you're ready to have the crap beaten out of you, but not before," James said before he turned on his heels and left the lab as quietly as he had arrived.

* * *

**A/N:** Thoughts?


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Hello, my Faithful Readers! I have good news and bad news for you. The good news: you get two chapters in one weekend, yay! The bad news: I won't be posting anything for at least two weeks. Why? Because it's going be very busy for me for the next couple of weeks with the closing of some major projects at work, so yeah… I hope you all return for the next installment :) I always like hearing from you, even if I don't respond to all reviews ^_^

* * *

**Chapter 15**

The genius was inanimate, envelope in hand, for a good five minutes after Rhodey had left. He had only twice before in his life felt this way, scared to motionlessness, and both occasions had been associated with the passing of a loved one: his mother, and then his father's apparent death caused by the plane accident. The inventor could only hope that the cause of this particular shock was not the same as the two from before.

_Pepper._

He took in a deep and slow breath as he gently tore open the side of the envelope. His hands were shaking and sweaty, and he almost dropped the letter and the envelope several times. When he finally had the piece of paper out of its container, Tony walked to his work desk for better lighting and placed the envelope face down on the table.

After another slow breath and with his heart caught in his throat, Tony's trembling hands unfolded the paper and his eyes immediately began reading the contents of the letter. He instantly confirmed it was the redhead's writing, and for a moment in time as he read the letter to himself, he forgot how to breathe. The contents of the letter were very short, and the most important part of it was the mention of a file name and a code._  
_

Tony cleared his throat, looked up at the ceiling, and spoke. "Computer, run file: _Private Eye_."

"Opening file: _Private Eye_. Password?" The computer asked.

"09172009." The genius responded.

"Password accepted. Running holographic sequence for file: _Private Eye_."

Tony looked up to the rendering of the recording, and before him appeared the image of Pepper. He had seen his father use a similar technology to record his will, and as such the genius had installed the application in his system for any possible use. He had shared the information with his friends when Pepper had been helping him debug the software, and after that he had forgotten all about it.

At least until now.

The recording adjusted to the current lighting and before he knew it, Pepper's voice echoed in every corner of the room.

"_Tony, first of all, please don't shoot the messenger. I know Rhodey didn't want to be the one to give you the letter, but I couldn't have anyone else do it. I thought about leaving it in your room next to the clothes you let me borrow, but it somehow felt impersonal to do it that way. I would've preferred telling you this in person, but I didn't earn that right with the way I acted towards you. I was pressed for time and this was the only way I could think of telling you of my decision. I hope you understand._

_Even though I said it before, I want to apologize again for the wrong I did to you, and for the very few days our relationship lasted. I truly believed we would be together for a long time, but like the song says: you can't always get what you want. It was painful, it still is, to come to the realization that we will never know how good it could have been between us. I can only hope that the very few moments of happiness between us left you with a worthy memory of us for days to come. I know remembering you will bring a smile to my face._

_Thank you for the memories and time you shared with me; the good ones, the bad ones, and even the weird ones – especially the weird ones, actually." _The holographic Pepper winked and smiled despite the clear sign that her eyes were starting to fill up with tears.

"_Being with you was never easy or boring, and I hope my annoying traits are not the only thing you remember of me. I had a lot of fun and I hope you did too."_

The holographic Pepper paused for a moment and looked behind her to something before she returned her attention to the screen and continued her talk. _"I've decided to move with my mom to California. She's going to help me find my birth parents, and I will try to reconnect with them. There's nothing for me here anymore, and my dad was just given a major assignment that will force him to move to the Middle East for a while. My mom is going to help me enroll in a school over in California to finish the last three weeks of school, and after that I'm not sure what I will do other than to look for my birth mom and dad. Hey! I may even have brothers or sisters. Wouldn't that be nice?"_

The holographic Pepper again took a pause to dry her tears and looked down at the floor. _"I left all the stuff you lent me here in the temple, including the Rescue armor. I've disabled all access I had to your secure server, and I washed and dried the clothes you lent me. I've also cleaned the mess you had here, and please try to be a little bit more organized from now on, OK? It took me two hours to find a broom!"_

Tony chuckled at her annoyed expression, stood up from the chair and walked up to the image of Pepper. He tried drying the tears he could see on her face, but as expected his hand went right through the image, causing it to shake for an instant and recalibrate. If Tony did not know any better, he would have sworn Pepper knew he was standing in front of her image when her eyes pierced his and a small smile forced on her face.

"_I love you, Tony,"_ she said without further ado. _"I wish I could've told you in person. I tried telling you during the Makluan fight, but I didn't have the chance to do it. I thought I'd have another chance to tell you later, but I blew it."_

"Pepper…I love you too," the genius whispered to her image, even though he knew she could not hear him utter the words.

"_And, if you feel anything for me, even if it's just anger, please honor this request: do not look for me. Do not call me; do not try to contact me for anything or in any form. I don't want anything to do with my life in New York, and I want to start a new life with my mom. I've already said goodbye to my dad, your dad, Roberta and Rhodey. This is my goodbye to you, Tony Stark."_

The holographic Pepper smiled sadly. _"I mean it. Don't look for me. I'll arrest you if you do."_

The image of Pepper closed her eyes and the file closed, leaving behind an incredulous scientist staring into the new emptiness of his world.

xxxXXXxxx

"How long are you going to stare at her locker, Tony?" Rhodey asked his stunned friend whose eyes were glued to the metal contraption for the millionth time since he had returned to school. As the janitor had said, the locker had been decommissioned for the remainder of the school year, and its empty contents matched the inside of Tony's soul.

"I fixed her picture, you know?" Tony said after a long silence as he took out from his wallet the restored photo that Pepper had thought had been lost in the locker prank. When he and Rhodey had helped the custodian pick up from the floor Pepper's destroyed belongings, the inventor had inconspicuously taken the ruined picture with the intention of fixing it up for his then-girlfriend. It had taken Tony an entire week, but with homework dying down as the last two weeks of school approached them, the genius had had plenty of time to make the image look better than before.

Rhodey stared down at the photograph and smiled even though the image of the redheaded baby made him sad. He could still feel Pepper's tears on his cheek when she had said goodbye to him, and even though their goodbye had been devastating to him, the boy could not imagine what this separation meant for the genius since he did not have a chance to see her in person one last time before she had disappeared from their lives.

_Has it really been just a week? _Rhodey mused. _It feels like forever._

Tony returned the photograph to its place in his wallet and stored it away. He then began following Rhodey to the class they shared, trying his best to ignore the slowly fading rumors of why Pepper was no longer attending the Tomorrow Academy. It had taken Tony all of his willpower not to punch the living shit out of some of the rumor spreaders, especially when their stories were as outrageous as improbable.

Some had said that Pepper had been expelled due to her "attitude" towards Miss Jones, but when said teacher had been asked to resign shortly after, that rumor had been squashed down. Then said rumor had been replaced with one that said that Pepper had left school because she was pregnant; the identity of the father ranged from Tony Stark, to Rhodey, to Happy and even Justin Hammer – despite his zombie-like status. When somehow the student body had found out that Pepper was adopted, the rumor had then become that she was actually a descendant of a famous Russian royal family, and that she had simply returned home. The latest rumor, however, made Pepper terminally ill and tied her to a death bed.

At first, Tony had wanted to straighten out the rumors, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that it would not make a difference. He only had two weeks left at the Academy, and after graduation it would all be over. He was set to start college in the fall, and Rhodey was leaving to the Air Force Academy in July. Everyone else would move on with their lives, and the rumor of the redhead who talked faster than the speed of light would soon be forgotten.

The genius forced himself to sit through another boring lecture in which he acquired no new knowledge whatsoever, making him wonder why the hell he continued to attend the school. The college could not care less if Tony graduated from the school or not, as his accomplishments had already granted him admission to any college of his choosing. Heck! He could easily walk out of the school right now and still receive his diploma via the mail in two weeks. He was certain no school wanted to go on record to be the one place Tony Stark decided it was not worth his time.

As he tuned out yet another useless discourse, Tony's eyes wandered to the seat that had belonged to his redhead. If he concentrated hard enough, he could almost see her sitting there, smiling back at him and bobbing her head up and down at some random tune that played only in her mind. Plenty of times since he had seen her message back at his lab he had wanted to put on the suit and go search for her. It would not be hard for him to do, suit or not suit. He had powerful satellites watching over the entire planet, and it would only take a few clicks to pinpoint the area where she now lived. It would not take much to fly to California, walk up to her, kiss her, tell her he loved her, and begin their happily ever after.

_If I leave now, I'd be there before lunch._

And yet, he would not do it. Not now, not tomorrow, or ever. Pepper had specifically asked him to do something for her, and as opposed to the time she asked him – begged him – to stay in the temple with her and fix things between them, he would listen to her just this once.

The genius closed his eyes and waited for the end of the class, and then the end of the school day, and at night before going to bed and after watching Pepper's goodbye for the nth time since he had become aware of it, he was going to do something he had not done in a long time: he was going cry.


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: **Change of plans. I'm still busy as heck, so I'm going to finish this story first before I lose interest in writing them. Unfortunately, _Broken _and _Kilómetros_ will have to wait since this one is more than halfway done.

Hope you understand :)

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**Chapter 16**

An entire week had passed by since Rhodey had found Tony staring at Pepper's old locker for the millionth time. That night, Tony had chosen not to go home and had instead locked himself up in his lab. In the privacy of the temple, he had laughed and cried, yelled and whispered, and destroyed and created, all in the name of _letting go_ of his feelings for Pepper.

Needless to say, all his efforts had been in vain.

Here he was, a week before graduation from high school, sitting by the entrance steps of the Tomorrow Academy, ignoring everything and everyone that passed him by. The rumors of what had occurred to Pepper had finally died down, all being replaced with the excitement in the air that came with taking the final exams and participating in the preparation for the big day. The big day that Tony felt could not come any sooner. He was tired of the wait. He was tired of the sad looks Rhodey gave him. He was tired of the indirect hints his father threw his way, and above all, he was tired of missing her every living second of the day.

Tony readjusted his position so that his back rested on the side of the building, mostly so that his back was not arched as it was starting to hurt. His eyes would randomly follow the passing crowd of students and teachers alike, all ignoring the disheartened look of the genius billionaire. All the money and smarts in the world had gotten him nothing; well, at least nothing he truly wanted to have.

Tony closed his eyes and thought about Pepper, wondering where she was and what she was doing this very moment. Was she also as miserable as he? Was she also thinking about him every day? Did she go to bed every night wishing to wake up to a better reality?

Had she found someone else?

_Someone else_, Tony thought bitterly_. Someone else who doesn't storm out of a place when she's begging him to stay and listen to her. Why didn't I listen? Why didn't I stay?_

Because, put plain and simple, he had been angry and hurt and, most of all, he had been _afraid_.

Afraid. Scared. Frightened. Petrified.

He had been angry at her for acting like a child when everyone was so worried about her. He had been hurt with her idea of breaking up as a means to solve the problems in her life. But, in the end, the one thing that had driven him to act the way he had acted was the fear of losing her. He had been afraid that she was right, and that the series of unfortunate events had been in fact his fault; his doing, his responsibility, and as such, his burden to carry and end.

"_I just want everything to go back to the way it was a few days ago. Before my mom showed up. Before I found out I'm adopted. Before the trouble at school. Before you told me that…that you… before we…"_

Her words had lulled him to sleep since she had uttered them, but most pointedly so after he had seen her holographic goodbye; the one he had played every night since then, particularly the part where she told him she loved him.

Who would have thought the genius was a masochist?

_I'm not a masochist; I'm just coping with it in a different way_, the boy told himself.

Tony had been sitting at the entrance steps for so many days now that he was able to tell by just listening to the sound of the crowd and the surrounding streets when the time for the bell to ring would come –without even having to even open his eyes. By his _noise estimation_, he figured he had about five more minutes left, which was plenty of time to continue to mope around and do nothing. He would then resign himself to another round of meaningless lessons, followed by another long afternoon of self-pity and disdain.

Or so he had thought until he heard a familiar voice; a voice he had hoped he would never have to hear again. Tony furrowed his brows, eyes still closed, and concentrated on the voice as it walked near him and spoke again.

"Hey, you there, do you know Patricia Potts?" The scientist heard the familiar voice ask, and his eyes snapped open to stare at the tall, redheaded woman that now stood near him. His eyes narrowed at her and he almost felt flamethrower-like powers forming in his mouth, and making him wish he could suddenly go Fin Fang Foom all over her ass.

_The nerve of this woman_, Tony thought as she walked even closer to him and leaned down to be at eye level with him.

"Hey, kid. Do you happen to know Patricia Potts?" The woman asked again.

"Of course I do. Is this some kind of joke, Loretta?"

The woman was taken aback by the sudden outburst of the teen and she straightened out her back. "Do I know you?" The woman tilted her head in confusion and causing Tony to groan and stand up from his position on the ground.

"Very funny, Mrs. Potts. Are you here to gloat that you won?"

"Won? What the hell are you talking about, young man? I don't even know who you are! How dare you talk to me like this?"

"Not know me?" Tony spat back. "Did you forget that you threatened to sue me just a few weeks ago?"

"Sue you? You must have me confused with someone else. I haven't been in New York in years! Now, I don't know what your problem is but, you said you know my daughter, right?"

"You mean your adopted daughter?"

Again, the woman was taken aback and even took a step back away from Tony. "OK, who are you and how do you know that?"

"Who am I? It's me! Tony Stark! Your adopted daughter's former boyfriend? That ring a bell?"

"Patricia had a boyfriend? She dated you, Tony Stark? Oh, my God! You ARE Tony Stark!"

Tony slapped his forehead with his hand before pointing an accusing finger at the woman. "Are you bipolar or something? Did you forget to take your meds?"

"My meds? You know what? I don't care if you are Tony Stark; you better stop talking me like that."

"Like what?" Tony challenged.

"Like you know me."

"But, I DO know you! You're Loretta Potts; Pepper's mother!"

"But I've never met you before, so stop acting like we have met. It's creeping me out."

Tony crossed his arms in front of his chest and stated at the woman up and down. His eyes were not betraying him in the least; this woman standing in front of him had been the same one that he had argued with a few weeks ago. The genius took out his wallet from his back pocket and opened it up to show the picture he had in it to Loretta. "This is you, right?"

Loretta's eyes softened a little and a small smile formed on her lips. "I always loved this picture. Where did you get it?"

"Pepper," was the only response Tony could give her that did not make him sound like a depressed stalker as he returned the wallet back to his pocket.

"I see. Pepper: is that her nickname around here?"

"Yes. She doesn't like to be called Patricia."

Loretta chuckled lightly. "Look, we got off on the wrong foot, and since you seem to be the only one that is willing and able to give some answers, why don't we start all over again?"

Tony eyed her suspiciously for a moment, wondering if this was a way for her to get information from him for the lawsuit she had threatened him with. When the woman did not do or say anything else other than wait for his response, Tony sighed and shrugged. "Fine, what do you want to know?"

"I'm looking for Pepper," the woman stated, feeling strange with the use of her daughter's self-appointed nickname. However, the young boy seemed to be fond of it, so her PR skills told her to use it so that she could establish some kind of trust with him.

"Pepper is supposed to be with you."

Loretta shook her head. "That can't be right. I haven't seen Pepper in years."

"What do you mean 'in years'? You came by three weeks ago and took her with you to California."

"California? Tony, I haven't lived in California in years. I live in Pittsburgh now, AND I haven't even been in the country in months. I just came back from a tour in Europe with one of my high-level clients."

The look of distrust that Tony gave her made the woman roll her eyes and aim for her bag. After a few moments digging inside, she finally brought out her passport and handed it to the genius. "See? Stamped a few days ago."

Tony grabbed the passport and eyed it carefully, noticing how many recent stamps the pages showed. If this passport was legit – and it seemed to be – Loretta was telling the truth.

"Why didn't you just call Pepper or Virgil?" Tony asked as he returned to passport to the woman.

"I tried. Both numbers have been disconnected."

"Why are you here?"

"Pepper is graduating soon, and Virgil and I had an arrangement to tell Pepper she was adopted after graduation. I haven't received an invitation to the ceremony, so I decided to stop by the apartment to make sure the deal was still active, but the landlord told me Virgil moved out a few weeks ago. I called the school but they said they had an order not to release any information about Pepper over the phone, so here I am."

Tony remained silent for a moment and during his wait the bell rang.

"Do you need to go to class?" Loretta asked.

"Not yet," he lied. "Can I see your driver's license?"

"Can I see yours?"

Both of them brought out the required identification and exchanged it with apprehensive looks. Using the card, Tony was able to confirm that Loretta did live in Pittsburgh, and Loretta confirmed that the boy was indeed Tony Stark. They returned the identification to the other and Tony invited Loretta to follow him inside.

"Where are we going?"

"Front office. Principal Nara will tell you what happened to Pepper and confirm that you were here a few weeks ago."

"But I just _showed_ you there is no way I could've been here!"

"Hey, Tony! We're going to be late for class!" Rhodey called as he neared his friend but stopped cold when he saw Loretta standing nearby. "Oh, it's you."

"For God's sake! Are you also going to say you know me when I've never seen you in my life? Did I apparently threaten to sue you too?"

"No, but you threatened to sue him," Rhodey pointed to Tony who was waiting for Glenda to get off the phone so he could ask to speak with the principal.

"For the last time, kid!" Loretta threw his hands up in the air. "I _didn't _try to sue anyone!"

"Well, if you didn't try to sue anyone," Rhodey began as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and moved aside to let Tony stand next to him, "Then someone who looks _and_ sounds exactly like you tried to sue Tony, AND took Pepper away from her only home."

Tony's eyes widened immediately after Rhodey's statement, and his face snapped to stare at his friend. "What did you just say?"

Rhodey frowned. "Which part?"

"I don't have any clones, kid. So, why don't you just drop it," Loretta said as she took out her phone. "I need to call my lawyer."

"Tony? What's wrong?" Rhodey asked the genius when he noticed the inventor's mouth went agape and his fists clenched in anger. "Whoa, man, what gives?"

"She," Tony began as he pointed at Loretta, "Didn't take Pepper away. Someone else…someone who _looks_ and _acts _like her took her… oh… Rhodey… Pepper… she's…"

Rhodey tilted his head to the side and stared at his friend with confused eyes until he too realized what Tony had meant. "No. Way."

"That bitch," Tony mumbled as he ran out of the office and the school, suited up, and on his way to the temple made a very important call to S.H.I.E.L.D.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

"What do you mean Miss Stane is on the loose? She's in her cell!" A very disconcerted General Fury told the genius as they both walked down the path to the containment units in the Helicarrier. The head of S.H.I.E.L.D. had received a very angry call from the genius on his way to the flying fortress from the Makluan temple, and before he could tell Tony to calm down, Iron Man had landed on the ship. Fury had nothing against the boy, per se, but when his cocky attitude got to him, he was very difficult to manage.

"We take pride in our security systems, Tony, and I'm telling you you're wrong. She has been locked up since you called us up to give her a ride from her house."

"And I'm telling you she's not here," Iron Man responded. "Not only is she not here, but she has Pepper."

"Pepper? I thought she was with you?"

"She's not. Her _mom_ – or who we all thought was her mom – took her away over two weeks ago. Her _real_ mom just showed up at school this morning when she couldn't get ahold of Virgil or Pepper on their phones, and asked me where they both were. The woman has been out of the country for months, and there is only one person I know that can take the shape of other people."

"Maybe that woman is pulling your leg," Fury offered, knowing from the little interaction he had had with Tony that when it came to anything related to Pepper, Tony took anything and everything regarding the redhead extremely seriously. "Once we get to the cell you'll see Miss Stane is still there."

"I hope so," Tony said as they stood outside the containment unit they had come to search for. Fury took a step toward the keypad on the wall and pressed the override code to unlock the cell. The first thing that they saw was the untouched meal by the serving tray compartment by the corner of the room.

"She never eats it," Fury explained as they walked closer to the body resting on the bed attached to the back wall of the cell. "See? She's right here."

"And, she, whoever she is, is dead," Tony said before he retracted his faceplate and walked up to the woman lying on the makeshift bed.

"Dead? What are you talking about?" Fury joined him and they both turned the cold and still body of the girl only to realize it was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents instead.

"Holy shit!" Fury's hand flew to his earpiece and tapped it twice. "I need a medical unit here. We have an agent down! I repeat, this is General Fury in containment cell 45-D. We have an agent down!"

"She's been dead for days, Fury," Tony said as he began looking around the cell for signs of forced entry or escape. "My scans show she died about five days ago."

"But, how can this be? No one has reported anything strange. How long has Madame Masque not been here?"

"Too long; maybe she was never here in the first place," Tony mused when his search proved unsuccessful. "Dammit! The place is clean."

"This can't be happening."

"Well, it IS happening!" Tony spat. "_You_ missed it. _I_ missed it. Everyone did! Whitney was never here and now she's off to who knows where, and she took Pepper with her!"

"Why would she take Miss Potts with her?" Fury asked as both men stepped out of the way when the medical unit arrived to the location. "I thought her grudge was against you."

"It is," Tony said and replaced his faceplate. "So she took it out on my girlfriend."

Fury furrowed his brows and nodded in understanding. "I'll get a search party ready."

"I'll get ahead." Tony stated, already on his way out of the Helicarrier.

"Where are you going to start looking for her?"

"My lab," the genius responded before he took off to the skies.

xxxXXXxxx

Ten hours after Tony had realized Whitney was somehow involved in Pepper's disappearance, the genius had already watched hours of footage of the Makluan Temple when Pepper had stayed for the night, searching for any clue that would shed some light on the whereabouts of the blonde and the redhead. So far, the only thing he had discovered was that Pepper had been scheduled to take a flight to Los Angeles the day before he had returned to the temple, and after confirming with the airline, the passenger – Pepper – had never boarded the plane.

After asking for the details of her departure, Rhodey had informed the inventor that Pepper had been dropped off at the airport by Virgil. Virgil had then returned to the apartment and had begun packing, and had left himself for the Middle East a day later. The security cameras at the airport showed Pepper going through security and then stopping by the restrooms, but she never came out of them, or at least not looking like anyone Tony could recognize.

Word had quickly spread to Roberta and Howard of what had occurred, and they too were doing whatever they could on their end to help with the search. The real Loretta Potts had been offered to stay with the Rhodes, and she had gladly accepted the accommodation. Loretta was doing her own investigation as well, truthfully worried about the whereabouts of her daughter and ex-husband.

"It's not enough," Tony mumbled to himself as he stared at the information he had. "This is not going to be enough to save her," he covered his face with his hand. _Please don't let it be too late. Please let her be alright._

It angered and scared Tony to no end that Whitney had outsmarted them all right under their noses, and she had the advantage of two weeks. For all they knew, Pepper had already been killed the same day she had disappeared while everyone else just sat back and moved on with their lives. By the looks of it – no ransom request, no phone call, and no threatening note – Whitney's single intent had been to remove Pepper from Tony's life. She did not care to bargain for her life, or to even let Tony know what had occurred. She knew Tony was smart enough to figure it out on his own, and she also knew that once he realized what had actually occurred, the pain of impotence and guilt would be enough punishment for the boy.

_If only I had stayed. If only I had told her how I felt._

The sound of his satellite phone ringing shook Tony out of his thoughts. The genius snapped his fingers on the screen in front of him and the call was immediately answered. "Tony Stark."

_"Tony! It's Virgil,"_ the man said clearly despite the bad reception. _"I got your urgent message to call this number by a very strange, archer-looking guy. What's wrong?"_

Tony had asked Nick Fury to pull some strings and find the location of Virgil Potts. The FBI man had been sent on a special mission to Afghanistan, and had been asked to end all contact with everyone else while he was assisting there. This seclusion included disconnecting his cell phone line, which was the reason why Loretta had not been able to communicate with him in the first place. Thankfully for the genius, S.H.I.E.L.D. had friends in high places – and in some low places, too – and they had been able to find him and get a cell phone to the man.

"Mr. Potts, I have some bad news for you. It's about Pepper."

_"What? What happened? Did she run away from California, too?"_

"No, sir. I'm afraid…she, uhm…" Tony sighed. "Look, is there any chance you can be sent back to the States? We need your help. I'm certain that Pepper has been kidnapped; she never made it to California."

The silence at the other end was long but when Virgil came back on the line, Tony knew the man understood the gravity of the situation. _"I'm on my way,"_ was all the man said before the line went dead. Tony stared at the location of the phone and estimated it would take Virgil a few days to get back to the States, so the least he could do for him was to continue the search for his daughter as he already was.

_I'm going to find you, Pepper. I'm going to find you and bring you home._

xxxXXXxxx

Three days later, the living room of the Rhodes family was full to capacity by Roberta, Rhodey, Howard, Loretta, Virgil and Tony. In the table in the middle of the couches lay one of Tony's holographic projectors showing all the information they had gathered so far. The genius felt as if he was back at the battle against the Makluan, planning with Nick Fury to take down the hostile alien force but this time he had no clue where to start his plan of action.

"This is the video that shows Pepper going inside the facilities at the airport," Tony said as he used his hand to manipulate the images. "As you can see, she went through security at 11:42 A.M. She then sat by her terminal for about 10 minutes, and then went inside the restrooms at 11:52 A.M. The security cameras of the airport don't have feeds in there, so that's the last we see of her."

"This doesn't make sense," Virgil shook his head. "Pepper sent me a text message at 4:45 in the afternoon to tell me she had landed. Then she texted me again at 6 to tell me she had arrived to Loretta's home."

"_Fake_ Loretta," the woman added. "FAKE Loretta."

"Fake Loretta," Virgil said with a roll of his eyes.

"Whitney," Tony said. "Let's just call her Whitney."

"How are you so certain that it was her?" Roberta inquired.

"Because she is the only one that knows us that we know has the ability to pose as someone else. Plus, Fury doesn't even know when she escaped from the Helicarrier, AND I had S.H.I.E.L.D. run a background on Mrs. Potts and she's clear."

"Thank you!" Loretta threw her hands in the air. "Now, why is this super agency not able to find my daughter?"

"They're working on it," Tony said. "Anyway, the text messages you received," the genius pointed to Virgil, "were probably sent by Whitney to remove any suspicion. Pepper's phone was disconnected the day after."

"And it worked," Howard pointed out. "We need to find Whitney to find Pepper. Tony and I are going to work on a radar device to find the energy that is released from the mask when used. We'll calibrate it to feed off satellites, so as soon as she uses it, no matter where in the world, we will have a lock on her coordinates in just a few seconds."

"How long will it take to build?" Rhodey asked.

"A week, tops," Tony said. "I'd like to have it sooner but I want the algorithm to be perfect. I'm not taking any chances."

"What can we do?" Virgil asked, feeling powerless to find his little girl. "The FBI is already searching too. They're interrogating people who were at the airport that day and monitoring for keywords on the web and in various frequencies."

"Obadiah has been transferred to a secured medical facility," Roberta said. "He will be monitored 24/7 in case Whitney decides to pay him a visit."

"She won't," Tony said. "I have a feeling this is not the same Whitney we dealt with in the past."

"What do you mean?" Roberta inquired.

"What Tony is trying to say," Howard interjected, "is that the mask has probably taken complete control over her. Last time the mask possessed her, based on what Tony showed me, she hated even her own father. It wouldn't surprise me if she never came back to see him ever again."

"That just means that she could've done anything to Pepper," Rhodey pointed out with a frown.

"No. Patricia is not a weakling," Loretta said. "I refuse to think we'll never find her. I don't care what witchcraft this girl is using, my daughter is not going down without a fight, and I know we're going to find her."

Virgil eyed Loretta for a moment, opened his mouth to say something but decided against it at the last minute. He then stared at the lost look the blue-eyed boy had on his face and he knew the genius would not only say he would do anything to find Pepper, he would actually backup his words with actions. "So, all that we can do for now is waiting for you to finish the device and get a signal, right?"

"Pretty much," Howard shrugged. "It's not the best of plans but it's all we've got for now."

"OK, well. I'm going to go back to my hotel."

"Nonsense!" Roberta said. "You are welcome to stay here, Virgil."

The man gave his ex-wife a glance that prompted Howard to jump into the silent conversation. "No need to overwhelm you, Roberta. Virgil can come back home with us, right Tony?"

"Of course," Tony nodded.

"Are you sure?" Virgil asked.

"Absolutely. It's late now and we all need some rest. Tony and I will continue working on the device and we'll send you all an update once it's ready to track Whitney."

"Alright," Roberta said and everyone began standing up. As arranged, Loretta stayed with the Rhodes, and Virgil stayed with the Starks, and somewhere far away from them, a redheaded girl was on the verge of life and death.


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

"Dude, just because Pepper isn't here, there's no excuse for you to fall asleep on your work table…again…or drool on it." James Rhodes poked his friend on the shoulder, stirring the genius awake. Tony blinked his eyes a few times and rubbed his face with his hands as he looked up at the young man in front of him.

"What time is it?" Tony mumbled.

"Time for you to take a bath." Rhodey responded with a wave of his hand to exaggerate the smell.

"I took a bath on Friday." The inventor replied and scratched his neck.

"It's Sunday, and you missed graduation night, by the way."

"Did I?" Tony shrugged as he got up from the stool and walked over to his computer screen. "Whatever. Who cares, anyway? If Pepper couldn't go, then what's the point?"

"That's different. You're still getting your diploma in the mail; she isn't."

"She is," Tony said without missing a beat as he began typing on his computer. "I had the principal average out her grades for the year and pass her. They'll mail her diploma to my house along with mine."

James' eyebrows shot up to his forehead in surprise. "As nice as that it is," Rhodey began, "it makes me wonder if you have issues, dude. I mean, other than the ones we already know about," the boy clarified. "You can't just throw money at everything and expect it to be solved for you."

The inventor smiled sadly. "You know, Pepper told me the exact same thing. She was supposed to remind me why it doesn't always work trying to fix my problems with money if she let me explain to her why light-years don't measure time."

Rhodey smirked. "You guys had a weird relationship."

"Have." Tony corrected his friend.

"What?"

"Have; not had. We still have it."

Rhodey shook his head but decided not to start an argument he knew was going to lead the genius to pure rage. "So, what's up with the radar? Any luck?"

"Not yet. The calibration is ready and the satellites are searching, but Whitney hasn't used the mask."

"Kind of odd, don't you think?"

"Yes. I guess she feels like there's nothing else she might need to do with it now."

"You think that's her entire plan? Take Pepper, do whatever she did with her, and move on?"

"Guess so," Tony shrugged and pulled away from the computer. "But I know she'll use it again; she likes the feeling of power she gets from it. I just hope she does it sooner rather than later."

"Well, maybe we can _make_ her use it." Rhodey suggested with a one-sided shrug.

"Make her?" Tony turned around to face Rhodey with a confused frown. "What do you mean?'

"Not sure about it, but I doubt she would just do the deed and not stay around to watch her victory."

"So, you think she's still around." The billionaire stated more than questioned.

"Perhaps."

"But the satellite would've picked up the mask usage." Tony reasoned.

"There are other ways to conceal herself other than with the mask," Rhodey pointed out. "She could have dyed her hair, for example, or even changed the color of her eyes with contact lenses."

Tony felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him and a shiver ran down his spine at the simplicity but plausibility of Rhodey's suggestion. He then ran toward the computer once more and pulled up the school database of student information he had hacked into to bribe Principal Nara to pass Pepper and issue her a diploma. Rhodey walked up to his friend and stood beside him as Tony clicked and typed all over the place until a specific student record popped up on the screen.

"Who's that?"

"One of my fan girls," Tony said in an angry tone. "And someone who enrolled in the academy the Monday after the Makluan invasion attempt took place." Tony pointed to the date of admission listed on the top corner of the screen. He then pulled up Whitney's student record and set them both side by side.

"The dates of birth and heights are the same," Rhodey stated. "The only difference is the name, eye color and hair color."

Tony keyed in a command to zoom into the pictures from the two different profiles and placed them side by side on the screen. He then had the computer change the color of the eyes and hair of his "fan girl" and when it did so, the new student looked exactly like Whitney. "All of which can be changed," Tony spat.

"It could be a coincidence," Rhodey suggested while Tony ran a facial comparison diagnostic.

_"Diagnostic complete,"_ the computer said aloud. _"Match found."_

"Or not," James amended his statement.

"Computer, hack into the Tomorrow Academy's camera feeds."

_"Processing request. Estimated time for completion: 2 minutes."_

"Hack? How many laws have you broken so far?" James crossed his arms over his chest in a disapproving manner.

"I'd rather not make you an accomplice, Rhodey."

"Son of a bitch," Rhodey said under his breath. "Do you have any idea what Pepper is going to say when she finds out you were hacking into all these databases?"

Tony smiled. "She's going to be so proud of me."

Rhodey opened his mouth to contradict Tony's statement, but after giving it some thought, he realized the genius was right. "You two are meant to be together; you rejects of the NSA."

"Rejects?" Tony said, sounding almost insulted. "The NSA uses us as case studies for their new interns," the inventor said with the first sign of contentment that Rhodey had seen in weeks while he played around with the data he was receiving from the school. Once the last four weeks of feeds were organized, Tony had the computer cross-reference the images with the picture of his fan girl to pinpoint all the times she appeared on the videos.

"This is going to take a while," Tony stated. "I'm going to take a quick shower."

"Finally! I'll watch over the satellite."

"Thanks, man." Tony said with a smile and an air of confidence that came from feeling he was going somewhere with Pepper's search. "I'll be right back."

xxxXXXxxx

An hour after Tony had gone off to shower, both he and Rhodey sat in front of the computer screen analyzing the videos where the supposed fan girl appeared. Up to just a few minutes ago, the only images of her showed nothing suspicious about her actions but they had attributed this fact to the girl showing up in images of her enrollment steps at the front office. The videos of her after she had left the office were a completely different story, however.

The first sign of questionable activity had been a rather obvious one and had happened on the first day of her admission to the academy. The video feed showed the fan girl – or Samantha, her supposed name – bumping into Pepper as she walked down the halls. This had been the same day that the ginger had heard Tony say he wished she was more like Whitney, and Samantha had been around to hear his slipup, causing the imposter to smile widely.

The next noteworthy appearance of Samantha occurred when Tony had been running away from his fan girls and had ended up in the cafeteria. Tony's eyes softened as he stared at his image trying to convince Pepper to meet up with him at the armory. Behind him, however, the new student watched them intently, narrowing her eyes at them.

"I remember that moment," Tony said as he rewound the video to use Pepper's reaction to a comment as his reference. "Pepper's scoffing because Samantha just asked me if she could _ride_ the Iron Man suit."

Rhodey shuddered. "Something tells me she didn't mean it the way it sounds."

"She didn't." Tony agreed before the next video feed appeared. This time, the fan girl in question was standing by the entrance to the roof, hiding her presence and watching Pepper and Happy talk. Tony figured this was the scene of their breakup, and when the girl's eyes widened before she took out her phone to text, the two young men knew she had started the hate campaign against Pepper.

"I can't believe she did all this!" Tony yelled. "All of this to get back at me? Why didn't she just attack me, huh? I'd let her break my arm if she had wanted to! Why did she have to take it out on Pepper?"

"You know why, dude," Rhodey reminded the genius. "Would it have really affected you that much if Whitney had attacked you directly? Anyone who knows you and Pepper – even Stane knew – that to get even with you all they have to do is hurt her."

"But, Rhodey…I…" Tony sat back on his chair, sighed loudly and shook his head. "Is this how it's always going to be with us? Can I really not be with her?"

Rhodey's brows furrowed and he shrugged. "If I said that there's a high probability that she will be in constant danger for the rest of her life, will you stop seeing her?"

Tony closed his eyes and moved his head to the side as he reflected on Rhodey's question. When he opened his eyes again, his mind showed him the image of Pepper and him standing by the work table when he had shown her how he felt. He could replay the entire scene in his head. He could feel the tingling sensation on his skin when she touched him and the taste of her lips on his when they kissed for the first time.

"I…I don't know, Rhodey," the inventor finally said, feeling torn by the conflicting wants of his heart and the rationality of his head.

"Well, when we find Pepper, that is a decision you will have to make. But for now let's just worry about finding her first, alright?"

Tony nodded lightly and returned his attention to the screen. The next video feed showed the fan girl talking fervently with Janet Lowe before handing the expelled student a bag; a bag Tony and Rhodey then later on saw being used by Janet herself to destroy the contents of Pepper's locker.

"It seems Whitney had someone else do some of the deed for her," Rhodey pointed out as the two boys watched Pepper's locker being raided. Later on in the same recording, Pepper and Tony are shown discovering the prank, and in the background the fan girl can be seen laughing at the redhead's misery along with Janet and her lackeys.

While there was no audio for the recordings to confirm it, based on the video images Tony and Rhodey assumed that it had also been the fan girl's doing that the front office staff had been made aware that Tony and Pepper had left campus during lunch. Samantha's involvement in the misunderstanding that had landed all three of them in the office was also confirmed when she was seen as being in the group that had overheard the trio's conversation on the roof regarding the rumor about Tony and Pepper having left the school to sleep together.

Once the video feeds ended, Tony minimized the camera windows only to bring up the profile of the new student. Tony's eyes scanned the profile once more and when he attempted to find the location of the fan girl's home address, the search returned the location of an empty lot, making the genius groan in frustration. "This _has_ to be Whitney; there's no doubt about. She even dropped out of the academy the day after Pepper was taken out of school," Tony pointed to the date on the screen and ground his teeth. "You were right, Rhodey. She was there the entire time."

"She pulled a fast one on us, Tony" Rhodey admitted. "But that still doesn't explain how she got Pepper out of the airport without anyone noticing."

"I don't know how she did that," Tony sighed. "It could take us weeks to comb those videos for evidence, and I don't know if Pepper has that much time left."

"So, what are we going to do now that you know it was her after all?" Rhodey asked.

Tony eyed the profile for a few more seconds before his face changed to one that Rhodey recognized as being the look he had on when he was about to face a powerful enemy without holding anything back. "We'll just do that you said."

"What did I say?"

"We smoke her out."


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Tony Stark sat in his seat at the middle row of the movie theater to which he had taken Pepper to watch the latest chick flick. The couple sat in silence watching the previews play and shared a cup of popcorn that was resting on the ginger's lap. The genius' right arm was resting on the redhead's seat, and her head was resting on his arm.

"Being Tony Stark's girlfriend has its perks, huh?" The redhead asked with a smile. "I could get used to this," she added before she took a sip of her shaved iced drink. "This week you've taken me out to more normal places that I've ever gone out in my entire life: the theater, an ice rink, the mall, a museum, the freaking Statue of Liberty..."

Tony smirked and winked at the girl before he leaned over to grab a handful of popcorn and threw it inside his mouth. He chewed it thoroughly, took a sip of his own drink and shrugged. "This is just the basics. Wait until I take you out on real date."

"A _real_ date? This is not a real date?" The girl asked in shock. "What the heck do you do on a real date? Buy a girl an island?"

"Buy an island," the boy tapped his chin with his finger as he considered the idea. "That doesn't sound bad."

The ginger rolled her eyes. "You would have the money for it, too. But, seriously, what do you do on a real date?"

"Wouldn't you want to know? You'll just have to wait and see."

"That's not fair! I don't even know if and when it will happen! I don't have all the time in the world, you know?"

"Hopefully it won't take that long," Tony said before he rearranged his sitting position so that Pepper could rest her head on his shoulder. "I'm running out of normal places to go."

"We can always go to abnormal places. I'm OK with that."

"What do you consider abnormal?"

"Well," the redhead bit her lip. "That's more of a 50th date kind of conversation."

"OK," Tony said with a skeptical tone and a single brow raised. "I think the movie's starting, anyway."

The room's light began to dim, and before they knew it the sound of a corny song invaded their ears as the starting credits of the movie began showing on the screen. The movie Pepper had chosen for them to watch was about a man with a bipolar disorder that had ended up in a psychiatric facility due to beating up the man his wife had been cheating on him with – in their own home, nonetheless. Eventually the man is able to be released from the facility and tries to rebuild his relationship with his estranged wife while befriending a young woman whose husband was recently killed.

"Once a cheater, always a cheater," the ginger whispered to Tony when the efforts of the main character to contact his wife began. "I wouldn't waste my time on her," she pointed to the main character's wife.

"Is that personal experience speaking out?" Tony whispered back, his eyes never leaving the screen. The movie was turning out to be much more entertaining than he thought it would be.

"Maybe," Pepper responded. "But it's mostly common sense. I mean, come on! She cheated on him with an ugly, old guy! At least cheat with someone that is better looking than your current better half. Don't you think?"

"So, you're saying that if you're going to cheat, might as well do it right?" Tony jested.

"Of course. Go all out or go home."

"I'll keep that in mind," Tony said with a slight nod.

"I'm sure you will," the girl chuckled before they both returned their attention to the dancing couple on the screen.

xxxXXXxxx

The park near the bay was practically deserted for such an early time of the day. After the movie had ended, Tony had taken Pepper to have lunch at the food court at the mall, bought her a few trinkets she had pointed out to him, and they were now on a bench watching the sunset.

Pepper sat on one end and Tony stretched his body on the bench, lying sideways and with his head on her lap. The redhead's fingers brushed his unruly locks, causing the billionaire to randomly close his eyes in relaxation despite the tension he felt. "You're very good at this."

"Don't get too comfortable, Tony. You can't expect this every day."

"Maybe not this exactly," Tony began. "But something pretty close to it I'm sure is not out of the question."

"Well, that's the whole point of this, right?"

"Yup. That's the intention," he agreed and closed his eyes for a few minutes. When he opened his eyes again, the sun had already set and the couple was left in the dark. There were a few streetlights already on, but none of them were close enough to intrude on the privacy of the teens.

"What do you want to do after this?" The redhead asked as her eyes casually scanned their surroundings.

"It depends." Tony responded and stretched his muscles.

"On the outcome?" Pepper looked down at his serious face.

"Yes," Tony responded as he stood up from her lap and sat next to her. "Whatever is necessary for this to work."

"I understand," she said with a nod. "But you need to relax a little so that it _can_ work. You've almost blown it up a few times already."

"I know. I'm trying, but it's hard." Tony admitted. His left arm surrounded the girl's shoulders and she rested her right hand on his knee.

"I know a few things that can help you relax," she said with a sly smile.

"Oh, I'm sure you do," Tony scoffed. "Just don't do any of the things that will get me in trouble with anyone."

"But those are the most effective ones!" The redhead cried. "Besides, I think we both want this to speed up a little, right? We can't stay like this the entire time."

Tony frowned but nodded. "I guess you're right," he said and turned his head to his left to look down at her hazel eyes. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

The redhead smirked. "Do you know of a better way?"

"Legally? No."

"Well, then let's get it done."

"Where? Here?"

"Of course not here!" She rolled her eyes at him. "Too out in the open," Pepper stood up and pulled Tony up by his hand. "Follow me."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see." She sing-songed.

The genius silently followed the girl to the deep part of the park where the trees were thicker. The light from the streets was hardly visible there, and that was exactly what the redhead wanted. Tony began feeling anxious about what he knew was coming but took in a deep breath to try to calm down. He could not back down now and he knew it – not when they were so close to getting what they wanted – but the thought alone did not help with his shaky and sweaty hands.

"Don't chicken out on me, Stark." The redhead teased when they stopped walking and stood in front of a low wall that served as a divider between the end of the walking trail and the creek underneath. She could feel his uneasiness and reluctance to follow through with what he had agreed to do, but there was no way she was going to let him back out of it now. "You need to learn this, anyway."

"I, uhm…well…" Tony could feel a light blush creeping up on him and the ginger laughed aloud.

"You brought protection, right?" she asked in a joking manner but Tony's eyes still opened wide. It was a good thing the Extremis had fixed his electronic heart or the ginger was certain he would have short-circuited it right then and there with her highly suggestive question.

"Uhm…ah…uh…er…" the genius's bright mind could not come up with a coherent response.

"Just relax," she whispered to him as she sat up on the wall and pulled Tony in between her legs. The genius let out a nervous exhale and stared down at the ground until he felt her hands cupping his face. "Just forget everything else and concentrate on my face."

The inventor did as told and stared deeply into the redhead's eyes for what felt as an eternity. She was then able to see the change within him when his hands found her waist and he leaned down to kiss her. The lip lock was sweet at first, but when her hands pulled up his shirt to lightly scratch his skin, the genius' kiss became more intense.

_That's what I'm talking about_, she thought.

Their breathing became more ragged by the second as their hands roamed around the other's body. The redhead surrounded his waist with her legs and pulled him closer, and Tony's hands slid down to her hips. His grip on them was tight as he lifted her off the wall, turned them around in place and swapped places with her. He brought her down onto his lap as he sat on the low wall himself.

"Pepper," he whispered to her in a hungry tone and kissed the side of her neck.

The ginger moaned lightly in response and opened her eyes ever so slightly to look behind them to make sure they were still alone. "Did you miss me, Tony?" she whispered in his ear.

"Yes," he responded immediately. "I missed you so much."

The girl knew by reading the genius' non-verbal cues that Tony's mind was not entirely aware anymore, and this was what she knew needed to happen so he could unwind and carry on with their actions. "Do you miss Whitney?"

Tony scoffed. "Whitney, who?" he responded before kissing her lips again and the redhead's hands flew to the edge of his shirt, pulling it off him in one swift move as she pulled away from his face.

"I'm so happy you were able to rescue me, Tony." The redhead purred and slid her hands up and down over his chest, tracing his muscles with her fingertips.

Tony smiled and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. "And I'm so happy you've returned to me," he said to her before he kissed her again. The redhead's hands held onto his back belt loops and pulled him closer to her. He reciprocated the gesture by tightening his grip on her hips.

"Do you love me, Tony?" She asked after she broke the kiss. She knew she was asking a risky question that could destroy the illusion, but the end justified the means.

"Yes. I love you, Pepper; you know I do," he whispered to her, still caught in his own world, and brushed the side of his nose against her cheek. "Don't ever leave me again."

"I won't," she assured him and brushed his hair with her fingers. "Now that Whitney's gone, we can be happy again."

"Don't say her name anymore," Tony whispered. "I can't stand hearing her name."

"But, she was your friend, Tony." The redhead reasoned, purposefully trying to upset the billionaire.

"Not anymore," Tony spat. "I'd rather die than be friends with her ever again."

"That can be arranged," a voice behind Pepper said and Tony looked up from the ginger's neck to stare at the person they had been waiting for to appear. She was standing just a few feet away from them, gun in hand. The inventor felt the redhead slowly surround his neck with her hands before she leaned over to the left side of his face to whisper in his ear.

"Stick to it, Tony."

"How did you find us, Whitney?" The genius asked, trying with all his might not to summon his armor and beat the living crap out of Madame Masque.

"Guilty as charged," she responded before she cocked the gun and fired a shot that hit the redhead in the back.


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

The redhead closed her eyes when she felt the impact of the bullet on her back. Tony's right hand held onto the edge of the low wall so that the hit did not disturb his balance, and his left arm was immediately covered by the suit's gauntlet. Madame Masque began to charge towards them but Tony encased the would-be assassin in a force-field built just for her.

"Sit tight, Whitney. You aren't going anywhere," Tony said as his hands moved to the ginger and slowly shifted her so that she was sitting sideways on his lap. "Are you OK, Widow?"

The genius carefully removed the mask from the undercover agent's face and she immediately returned to her true form. He rested the mask on the edge of the low wall while around them the remaining agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. came out of their hiding positions and took aim at Whitney, taking extra precautions to make sure the woman did not escape them this time around.

"How did you…?" Whitney began as she repeatedly hit the force field to no avail. "You tricked me, Stark! You tricked me!"

The inventor glared at his former friend before his eyes returned to the wounded woman in his embrace. He then picked her up in his arms and walked toward the incoming medical team that had been on standby. The spy moaned lightly and shook her head, letting out a string of very colorful words.

"You couldn't make the bulletproof vest a little bit more cushioned, Stark? I felt that hit."

Tony flinched as he laid her on the gurney the paramedics had laid out for her. "Sorry. I was going more for efficiency. Gunpoint injuries are difficult to prevent. But hey, at least you'll have a bruise tomorrow rather than a hole in your back!"

"Silver lining? Really?"

"That's all I got right now," Tony said with a small smile.

"Ugh," the Black Widow responded when she tried to laugh but pain overcame her instead. "Just when I was going to get an island as a present."

"How about an all-expenses paid vacation for you and Hawkeye?"

"I'm in!" The archer yelled from afar as he reached them. "Least you can do after making out with my girlfriend for an entire week. Babe, you alright?" Clint asked the Widow.

"Yeah, just need to rest."

"You did awesome," he reassured her. "Might have taken an entire week to get her to buy into the trap, but there she is!" He pointed to the kicking and screaming Madame Masque.

After Tony made sure Natasha was taken care of, he walked back to the low wall, picked up his shirt from the ground, put it back on and then walked to stand in front of Whitney. He narrowed his eyes at her before digging his non-armored hand inside his pocket. He took out a small remote control, pressed the single button on it and after a loud shriek from the girl, the mask split in two and fell off from her face and onto the ground, revealing to everyone that Whitney had in fact taken the fake identity of Samantha Fray. Behind the billionaire, the second mask that Howard Stark had made for Natasha Romanoff also split in half and became totally unusable.

"The mask is permanently disabled, Whitney. Your Madame Masque days are over."

Whitney pressed her fists against the shield and pounded on them with every other word she spoke. "Damn you, Tony Stark! I can't believe I fell for this! I should've known that stupid groupie couldn't have gotten away from where I dumped her body!"

"Where is she, Whitney? Where is Pepper?"

The girl snickered and crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly feeling the power of the situation returning to her. "Dead," she deadpanned.

"No, she isn't dead. _Where_ is she?" Tony took a step toward the shield and leaned closer to the fake brunette's face.

"I just told you, Tony. She's _dead_," Whitney responded and emphasized the last word.

The eyes of everyone present landed on the boy when he further narrowed his eyes at the prisoner. "I'm going to ask you one last time, Whitney: Where. Is. Pepper."

Whitney uncrossed her arms and took a few steps closer to the shield, stood a few inches away from the scientist' face, and stared him directly in his blue eyes. "That _pet_ of yours is where she belongs: in hell. And there's nothing you can do to bring her back, and nothing you can do to force me to tell you where you can find whatever is left of her broken, bleeding, rotting body. You'll just have to bury in her coffin that picture of her you have in your wallet because there is nothing left of her. Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Tony's groan was the only warning Whitney received before the shield was taken down, the suit surrounded Tony as he charged at the blonde and pushed her onto the ground, his armored hands surrounded her neck. He sat on top of her to incapacitate her, and he called upon the shield again to keep anyone from reaching him.

Outside the protection of the force field, the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. stared at one another, unsure of how to proceed. They knew that shooting at the force field would only get them injured when their ammo would undoubtedly ricochet. Hawkeye, who was still holding onto a recovering Black Widow, gave the order to call in reinforcements. Meanwhile, all they could do was watch and hope that Iron Man did not willing and consciously claim his first human victim.

Tony's grip on the girl was strong enough to cause pain, but not strong enough to kill her. His eyes – although covered by the suit – were filled with rage that was pouring out of him waves. He refused to believe that he was too late. He refused to accept that he had played pretend with the Black Widow for an entire week only to find out Pepper was gone. This was not how it was supposed to end. He was supposed to find Pepper and get back together with her.

"Stop playing games, Whitney. I know you're lying to me. Now, tell me where she is."

"In what language are you hearing me speak, Stark? I got rid of her a long time ago. She died a slow death, just like she deserved for taking you away from me."

"Taking me away from you? Are you insane? You never had me, Whitney! I started dating you because that way I could get access to Stane's secrets through you, and then I dated you because I felt sorry for you! I never cared for you as anything more than a friend!"

"A friend?" Whitney spat. "What kind of friend puts a friend's dad in a coma?"

"It wasn't me, and you know it. Your father lost it. He hurt a lot of people. He kidnapped Pepper, and he tried to kill me. I'm not proud that I couldn't stop it, but he asked for what he got."

"Just like that scrawny redhead asked for what she got."

Tony grunted as he lifted Whitney by her neck and slammed her head against the ground. "STOP LYING!"

"I'm NOT lying! Do you want proof? Do you want proof that she's dead?"

"Where IS PEPPER?!" he slammed her head against the ground again, this time harder than before, but Whitney did not scream in pain.

"DEAD! She is DEAD!"

"NO! Where?" Tony increased his grip on her neck. "Where did you take her?"

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter anymore, Tony! I had my way with her and she paid for what she did to me. All those times you chose to be with her instead of me, she paid for every single one. And you? You're going to have to live with the guilt that it was because of you that she died. You should've walked away from her when you had the chance. You should've broken up with her when she told you to!"

"How do you know about that?"

"I know everything, Tony. I know more things about her than you do. I know she was afraid that you would break up with her when you moved on to college. I know she was planning a celebration for your 18th birthday since you never got to enjoy it because you were fighting aliens. I know she had been saving up for months and bought you a backstage pass for Dr. Reed Richard's symposium next month. You want to know what I did with that ticket? I made her eat it. She nearly choked on it, but she swallowed it all. You want to know what else I did with her? You want all the details of how she cried and begged for her life? Do you want to know how many times she called your name and asked for you to save her?"

Behind the helmet, Tony's eyes were beginning to sting thanks to Whitney's declaration and his own growing guilt. He wanted to snap her neck in two, but the energy was slowly being drained from him. When Tony was unable to utter a word, Whitney took in a deep breath and continued speaking.

"'_Tony is going to save me'_ she told me so many times. '_Tony's going to stop you_,' she said some other times. But you never came, and she continued to call your name. Even after you ran out on her and left her in your lab by herself, even after you broke up with her and refused to listen to her, she still waited for you. She still hoped you would take her back."

Tony removed his hands from her neck and took a step back to get off her body. The blonde smirked as she pulled herself to a sitting position and stared at the slowly breaking Iron Man. "Do you know how she died? Do you want to _know_ how she died?"

Tony's back hit the shield that he still had up and running despite the fact that Whitney would be shot on the spot if she tried to run away when the force field came down. The inventor could barely hold himself up, his hands rested on the shield as he looked up to face Whitney one more time.

"Did you know the human body can last at most 7 days without food or water? Do you know the effects of slowly losing oxygen and taking in carbon dioxide? Pepper knows. Pepper knows exactly what that feels like; too bad she didn't live to tell the story." Whitney finally stood up and walked up to Tony, standing a couple of feet away from him with a menacing smile.

"Your beloved redheaded friend is at the bottom of the ocean, locked inside a metal container, where she either starved to death or was asphyxiated when the oxygen ran out. Take your pick. And you know the best part of all?"

Tony remained silent and in shock, unable to form any sound. Whitney's hands held Tony's helmet by the sides and she gave him a smile of accomplishment and pride on what she was about to reveal to him. "She died thinking you didn't care enough for her to realize she was gone."

At her words, the force field came down and without it Iron Man crashed onto the ground. Whitney did not make any attempt to move or escape, and just stared down at Tony with a satisfied smile. She had never planned to tell Tony where Pepper had been, but she had also not expected him to outsmart her by using a second mask to fool her the same way she had fooled him. It did not matter, however, if Tony searched the oceans high and low; she knew Pepper was long gone.

"I think someone should do the world a favor and kill her," the Widow said after witnessing the madness that surrounded the young woman. "She's completely lost it."

"She might not be the only one to lose it," Hawkeye said in a sad tone as he pointed at Iron Man who was yet to move an inch. Meanwhile, in the incoming Helicarrier, Virgil, Howard, Rhodey, Roberta, Loretta and Nick Fury were as stunned silent as Tony as they had also heard every word.

* * *

**A/N:** Everybody confused with the previous chapter? That was the point ;) Hope this one clarified what occurred.


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

The bridge on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier was as silent as a cemetery after hearing the argument between Tony and Whitney, leaving everyone who cared about Pepper feeling devastated. A crying Loretta was being consoled by Roberta, and a shocked Virgil by Howard. Rhodey was soundlessly staring out the window, a knot forming in his throat as his mind repeated the possible images of the torture Whitney had put Pepper through, and Nick Fury was whispering orders to Maria Hill regarding the immediately retrieval of everybody who was out in the mission to set-up Whitney.

"Even Tony Stark?" An apprehensive Maria Hill asked her superior after witnessing the aggressive nature of the upset boy.

"_Especially_ Tony Stark," Fury responded. The General knew that Iron Man by himself was a force to be reckoned with, but a pissed off Tony Stark in an Iron Man suit was something only S.H.I.E.L.D. could manage for now.

"Yes, sir."

"Howard?" Fury walked toward the man as a sense of urgency befell him. "What do you need from us to start the search?"

"Search?" Rhodey spoke up as he was not certain if his ears were betraying him and surprised that a search was even being considered by the Head of S.H.I.E.L.D. "For Pepper?"

"Yes," Fury responded in an obvious-sounding tone. "Rescue is one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s honorary members. We're going to look for her."

Virgil looked up to stare at Loretta to ask a silent question and she nodded to him in response. He then walked up to Howard and Nick to join the conversation. "When can we start? I have a friend in the INTERPOL that owes me a huge favor."

"How about now? Let's get our forces ready to deploy when we have more information about a location." Fury handed the FBI man a phone. "Long distance is free," he added with a small smile.

While Virgil began making phone calls, Loretta and Roberta busied themselves calling Roberta's husband to pull some strings to have the Marines and the Navy be ready to search for Pepper once they had more details. Rhodey pulled out his cellphone and texted Tony, but as he expected the inventor did not respond. Rhodey could not image what was crossing his friend's mind at the moment, and honestly he did not want to be given a peek inside Tony Starks' brain right now.

"General Fury," Maria Hill called from her station. "Ms. Stane has been taken into custody and a Quinjet has been sent out to bring everyone back on board. They should be arriving in t-minus five minutes."

"Very well. How do you want to do this, Howard?"

The man pulled out his Stark Pod and pushed a couple of buttons on the screen before deeply frowning. "The suit's scans show Tony is in a state of shock. He might not be too much trouble for now, but he's going to need a medical checkup. His blood pressure is off the charts."

"Should we sedate him?" Virgil suggested, honestly worried about the boy. "I don't want him to hurt himself or the girl, even after what she did. It would only get him in trouble."

"It may be necessary," Howard conceded. "Let's see what he does, first."

"Alright," Fury conceded. "Hill? Let's make sure Ms. Stane gets the best seat in the house."

"Will do, sir."

xxxXXXxxx

The best seat in the house for an escaped criminal of S.H.I.E.L.D. was a 2x4 room with a single chair and a light shining down on the offender's face. Whitney sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair, hands tied behind her back and feet shackled to the ground. Every now and then the blonde – now brunette – would look up and stare at the one-way window in front of her, knowing that she was being observed 24/7, like a lab rat, but other than that she did not display any hints of how she felt about being returned to the Helicarrier.

_They are too late_, the girl thought with a smile. _I've already won, Pepper's dead._

On the other side of the one-way glass stood Nick Fury, Howard Stark and Virgil Potts, all monitoring the movements and vital signs of an eerily calm Whitney Stane.

"Do you think she really did to Pepper all those things she said?" Virgil asked despite the possibility that an affirmative answer would make the loss of his daughter even more painful than it already was.

"Her brain scans show she believes she did them, but it's hard to tell with someone as imbalanced at her. She's been exposed to the mask for too long, and it's difficult to pinpoint where Whitney Stane ends and where Madame Masque begins." Howard reasoned.

"What about Tony?" Fury asked, his eye never leaving the image of the girl. "Are we expecting him any time soon?"

Howard shrugged. "He's still in a daze, but we slipped him some muscle relaxants and his blood pressure is back to normal. I don't think we want him in the same room as Whitney, though. He could have killed her before, and once the shock wears off and he gets mad again, he could very easily twist her neck without realizing it."

"I wouldn't blame him," Fury began. "This girl is as sadistic as they come. _Never cross a jealous woman_, my grandmother used to say. But we can't let Tony go through with it. He might be mad now, but later on when he comes to his senses, he will regret it forever."

"Knowing him, he's probably already feeling guilty for everything," Howard said. "We should perhaps interrogate her before he shows up, don't you think?"

"I agree," Fury responded and turned on the microphone. "Glad for you to join us, Ms. Stane. I take it you're enjoying your stay?"

Whitney gave them a side smirk. _"I am. This is much cozier than what Pepper had to endure."_

"Is it?" Fury said without missing a beat. "Could we do worse than you?"

_"I doubt it."_ Whitney began. _"I spent weeks planning how to make sure Pepper suffered until her last breath."_

"Any pearls of wisdom you'd like to share with us?" Fury inquired, knowing that with criminals like Whitney, glorifying their actions was a sure way to get out of them more information than what they would provide by other, more ruthless means. Whitney displayed the textbook profile of a sociopath, and even if the real Whitney resurfaced later on once the effects of the mask wore off, the actions she had committed under the name of Madame Masque would remain with her forever.

_"Is Tony there to hear them? He was so interested in knowing everything about his pet; I wouldn't want him to miss out on it."_

"Tony is indisposed at the moment, but we can relay the message later."

Whitney shook her head. _"I'm not done with him yet. I won't tell you anything else until he is sitting here with me to listen to every detail."_

"Are you sure about that, Ms. Stane?" Fury probed. "You mentioned that the human body can last at most 7 days without any sustenance. We would like to test that theory, too."

Whitney smiled. _"You won't do it. You need me to find out where the body is…if there's anything left, mind you. You might push me, but you won't kill me."_

"You sound very sure of that, Ms. Stane."

_ "I've got nothing to lose, General Fury."_

"That might be true. So, since Tony won't be available for a while, this conversation is over for now. Good night, Ms. Stane." Fury said before he turned off the microphone and the lights, leaving Whitney Stane in the dark, and the three men in the backroom shocked with the confident attitude the young woman had.

xxxXXXxxx

Loretta Potts walked down the hall to the place she had been told she could find the grieving young scientist. It had been three days since Whitney had been set up and brought to the Helicarrier, and so far she had only shared horrible details about how she had treated Pepper while under her watch. She had refused, however, to give out the location of Pepper's body claiming that the story _was not there yet_. It had been painful to hear the excitement with which the blonde described the traumatic experience, but it had been even more painful to see the look on Tony's face of guiltiness and agony when he had to sit and listen to the things Whitney had to say.

She had only known the inventor for a few weeks, but she could already tell why Virgil trusted him so much with anything related to their daughter. She had heard of Tony Stark from the news, but not much was released regarding his personal life or his overall personality due to his young age. All she now knew about him had come from the people she had met in the past few days, and not one of them had stated anything bad about him other than his ongoing obsession with technological improvements and his relentless pursuit of criminals, both of which were shared by the young, spunky redhead herself.

After witnessing the damage Whitney was causing to everyone, and after a long conversation with her ex-husband, the two parents had come up with a decision regarding the next course of action to be taken. Fury, Howard, Roberta and Rhodey had not been in agreement with the Potts' decision, but they understood it was the couple's decision to make and not anyone else's. However, when the topic of communicating to Tony what Loretta and Virgil had decided to do – or not do anymore, it was decided that Loretta should be the one to relay the news to the boy.

_It's not fair to anyone_, Loretta thought. _We just have to let it go._

When she arrived at the door she knocked on it twice, and when she did not hear a response to come in she ventured inside. Her eyes immediately fell on his back as soon as she walked in, and she could tell he had not felt her presence when she heard him sniff. "Tony? Do you have a minute?"

His back stiffened with the sound of her voice, and he discretely rubbed his cheeks with the back of his hands. He then sneaked in a quick wipe to his face with the bottom of his shirt before he stood up and turned around to face the woman. "Yes, Miss Potts. Is it time for another session with Whitney?"

Loretta shook her head. "Not anymore. I spoke with Virgil and we've decided to call it. I don't think any of us can handle any more of that crazy girl and her stories."

Tony's eyes widened at the declaration and he took a few steps closer to the woman as if the shortened distance would have an impact on the decision that had already been made. "But, we can't give up, now. Pepper might still be alive. We can't just give up on finding her!"

Loretta's eyes filled with tears but she shook her head. "Unless we find another way to get the answers out of her, there is no point in continuing to give her what she wants. She wants to gloat and make you miserable, and she's succeeding. Maybe if we ignore her she will tell us where she took Pepper, but I refuse to let her continue calling the shots."

"But," Tony sighed. "What if she never tells us? What if we stop now and there's still a chance to find Pepper alive?"

Loretta shrugged. "We've thought about that, but by the time she feels like telling us, it might be too late anyway. Unless there is a way to read her mind, we're at her mercy, and who knows if at the end she would even tell us where Pepper is."

Tony sighed again, turned around and walked to the only window in the room he was staying in while on the Helicarrier. He stared outside to the clear skies and bright sun, which was a cruel contrast to how he felt inside. Whitney's words echoed in his mind and his heart, and had haunted his nightmares for the past three days.

He closed his eyes and thought about Pepper and her uncertain fate, and wished that the Extremis would have given him a way to control a person's actions just as he could control computers. Hell, he would swap the abilities right now if he could. If only he had a way to opening up Whitney's mind to him. If only he could somehow make her spill the information they needed from her. If only…

_"Unless there is a way to read her mind, we're at her mercy, and who knows if at the end she would even tell us where Pepper is."_ Loretta's words replayed in his mind, and his eyes snapped open when the answer dawned on him. He turned around to face the woman with a look of newfound hope all over his features and an almost full smile on his face. "We can," he said.

Loretta furrowed her brows and tilted her head to the side, looking a lot like Pepper when she did so. Virgil had been correct in adopting a little redhead; it was difficult to tell they were not related by blood. "We can what?"

"Read her mind."

"What? How?"

Tony walked toward the woman and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, not willing to waste more time moping around in the Helicarrier. "Tell the others that I'll be at the lab and that I'll be back as soon as I can. I have a favor to call."

"A favor? To whom? A psychic?"

"No," Tony said with a shake of the head already on his way out of the room. "An old friend."


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

The first message Tony had sent out in Makluan code had been: _SOS. Need your help. Meet me at the lab. _Two hours after he had sent it out and had received no answer, he had amended his statement to: _Urgent. Not a trap. Meet me at the temple._ Four hours later when he did not receive even a _"Leave me alone, Stark"_ from the Mandarin, Tony sent out a third and final message; the one message to which he knew Gene would answer almost immediately.

_It's about Pepper. She's gone._

As the billionaire had expected, Gene had replied instantly to his message but it had been with an "_I'll kill you if it's your fault_," and Tony had started thinking about where he wanted his grave to be. Two minutes later, Gene had shown up at the Makluan Temple in all his Mandarin glory. Half an hour later, this very moment, Tony had finally finished relaying the story to his old rival and friend.

"Why didn't you call me sooner, Stark?" Gene spat with a scowl on his always angry-looking face. "You've wasted valuable time."

"It didn't occur to me, alright?" Tony admitted. "Like I told you, I didn't even know Whitney had tricked us all."

Gene shook his head in disapproval. "I thought you were a better leader than this, Tony. You recruited her and Rhodes; you should be more responsible and aware of the consequences your actions have on them."

"I know. The situation, it just seemed so…uncommonly common. I never imagined Whitney was capable of this."

"And I didn't imagine you were capable of lying to me about Iron Man, but it happened."

Tony frowned and looked away. "You're still not over that? You know, Pepper wanted you to know about Iron Man, a long time ago. She trusted you, perhaps more than me and Rhodey combined; and when you betrayed me, you betrayed her too."

Gene was taken aback by this revelation, but the quick second of surprise was gone from his face before Tony could look up to face him. "Why didn't she tell me, after all?" Gene crossed his left arm across his chest and bent his right arm upwards in a questioning gesture. "Did you threaten to cut her out of your team if she did?"

Tony shook his head vehemently at Khan. "I never feared Pepper would go behind my back and reveal to anyone that I'm Iron Man. I've always trusted her."

"So? Why didn't she tell me, then?" Gene pressed.

"She didn't…" Tony sighed, uncertain of the impact his answer would have on Gene's willingness to help find the ginger. "She didn't want you to be involved in the dangerous missions we had. She didn't want you to get hurt."

Gene's shocked face was visible to Tony for an instant before he cleared his throat in a dismissive manner and scoffed. "As if she has to worry about me. I'm the Mandarin."

"She didn't know that then, right? Now, will you help me find her?"

"As long as you know I'm doing this for her, and not you."

Tony shrugged. "Clear as day. I just want her back."

"Even if you don't deserve her," Gene said before he nodded once, and closed his eyes for a few seconds. The rings of power then lit up, turning Gene into the Mandarin again. He stood up from the chair he had been sitting in and looked down at Tony's still sitting form. "Suit up, Stark," Gene told Tony. "I already know where she is. I've found her."

Tony's eyes landed on the Mark II armor but before he could call it to him, the Mandarin shook his head. "Not that one. Do you have something for the artic? It's going to be cold."

xxxXXXxxx

Gene teletransported them to the "container" Whitney had mentioned she had put Pepper in only to realize the so-called _container_ was actually a submarine.

An old, rusted, abandoned submarine.

A submarine that had been long ago decommissioned, buried in the ice, and had begun filling up water rather quickly by the time they had arrived. The depth of the underwater ship varied across its large structure, making the air pressure inside vary greatly. Even in their Mandarin and Artic armors, the two young men could feel the symptoms of fluctuating pressure and the thinning of available oxygen in the ship.

"Oh, nuts!" Tony spat as the water in the hall they were in was rapidly rising to his knees. "Are you sure this is the right place?" Tony asked as he tried his best to adjust his armor to the alternating pressure of the submerged container, and the lack of breathable oxygen around them, and hoping against hope that Pepper had not been here long if she was actually residing in the abandoned place.

"Positive, but for some reason I couldn't take us to the room she's actually in. There's so much electrical interference around there it was hard to find a place where we could land that we wouldn't make the situation worse."

"Worse, how?"

"This sub is old," Gene explained. "I'm sensing the structure is about to give out any moment. We're already risking taking her out of here without proper decompression, but we've got no choice."

"Dammit, I should've brought my other suit or hers for her."

"Not much that can be done now," Mandarin reasoned. "Let's just hope this electrical interference doesn't cause us to hurt her even more."

"Electrical interference? Hurt her? There's a water leak in here! You mean, electrocute her?"

"No. The water is not in all places, but I sense EMF interference all over the place she might be; it's obstructing my rings." Mandarin pointed to the door at the end of the hall where they were in. "Try back there. If not, there're plenty of rooms to check. Though, we don't have much time."

"What are you going to do?" Tony asked as he made his way to the door Gene had pointed to.

"I'm going to try to stop the leak to buy you some time. I can sense major distortion around here."

"Alright. Meet you back here?" Tony asked he looked back over his shoulder.

"Yes, hopefully" Gene responded before he disappeared in a ball of light to begin patching up the holes in the submarine. Tony, on the other hand, ran toward the closed door and used his repulsors to cut a hole in it well above the level where the water was before maneuvering inside with the help of his flight stabilizers. As Gene had said, the room was not filling up with water, but what Tony found surprised him nonetheless.

"What in the world?"

Tony landed on the floor of the room and was immediately reminded of his own lab on a bad day of inventions gone awry.

_What is it with all these wires?_

But it was not just wires.

Around him and underneath him, covering every inch of the room, were parts of electrical devices and various tools: metal plates and covers, cut up wires, bulbs and circuit breakers, pliers and electrical tape, and every other part or tool Tony could think of. _What the hell happened here?_

He reached a second door at the end of the first room and he immediately opened it. The door led him to another room, much darker this time, but its floor was still filled with spare parts of electrical components. The second room led him to another door, and that door led him to another room. This particular room also had empty wrappers of protein bars, old plastic containers of water, and torn blankets and clothes on the floor. To the blue-eyed boy the scene was one of a college after-party gone wrong.

With every step he took toward the backside of the room, the more the littering increased, and the more varied it became. And, the more he paid attention to it and flashed his light to it, the more the littering made sense to him when he began recognizing some of the schematics as his own. _A radar, a mini Stark Pod, a repulsor…someone's been trying to build my designs!_

And that someone was lying on the floor, face down, still as a rock, two feet away from where he had just stopped. "Pepper!"

The inventor got on his knees and with trembling hands pulled Pepper's body up from the cold, hard ground. As Whitney had described her, her leg was bent in a way it was obvious to him that had been broken, but was also being held in place by metal plates and wires that Pepper had used as tourniquets. Her clothes were torn and bloodied, and her hair had been cut uneven in some places, and bleached in others. Her lips showed signs of bruising, and the fact that she was as cold as ice did not sit well with him.

"Pep, can you hear me?" He pulled her bangs off her face and lightly shook the girl by her shoulders. "It's me, Tony," he retracted his helmet despite the inhospitable environment around them and pressed his ear to her nose and mouth. He could feel and barely hear her shallow breathing and he felt partially relived at this. But when he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers and was hit with the clamminess of her skin, Tony knew she did not have much more time left. "It's OK, Pepper." He reassured her unconscious state with a kiss on her cheek. "I've got you, Pep. I'm going to take you back home with me."

He picked up the redhead in his arms, stood up, turned around and walked to the door, but as he was halfway out of the room, the submarine creaked loudly and vibrated hard enough to force Tony to struggle to regain his balance. Tony became extremely still, eyeing everything around him, and when the noise was heard again – louder this time around and followed by a tilting of the underwater device – the scientist knew that he did not have enough time to get them out either, himself.

"Gene! Gene, get back in here! I've found her!"

Tony closed his helmet once more and resorted to sending Makluan signs to Gene again. When he did not receive an immediate response, the inventor began to panic. What if Gene had tricked him and left him behind? What if instead of patching up the leaks he was making more holes? What if he had plotted with Whitney and was now finishing the job she was not able to complete?

_No_, he told himself. _Gene cares for Pepper, as much as it pisses me off, he does care for her. He wouldn't hurt her. He would not do this to her._

"Gene!" Tony tried again. "Pepper needs a doctor! Where the hell are you?"

Iron Man took to the air, not wanting to risk putting more weight on the already unstable structure, knowing his Artic Armor was one of the heavier ones in order for it to sustain the bitterness of the freezing weather. He slowly flew them both across the rooms and toward the first door where he had come in before peeking outside through the hole he had made.

"Crap!" The water was now reaching the high up hole, leaving Tony and Pepper stuck in the small room they were in least he wanted to risk the still functioning machines electrocuting them to death. "Dammit, where are you, Gene?"

"_Outside,"_ Tony read the response on his helmet. "_The submarine is about to sink. Can't patch it up. Meet me in the hall."_

"Son of a bitch."

Holding onto Pepper for dear life with one arm, the scientist used his right repulsor to blow up the door in front of him. The hit made the submarine shake again and tilt even more, and with the door gone the water started rushing inside. Tony lifted them both higher than before, but with the live devices that were around on the floor combined with the incoming water, sparks began flying in every direction.

"Hurry up, Stark!" Yelled a levitating Mandarin from the other end of the hall, trying to avoid the electrically charged water himself. The change in pressure as he had moved inside and outside of the submarine trying to stop the water from coming in was getting to him, making his eyes have a difficult time focusing on what he was trying to do. He was holding close one of the doors with his hands, preventing the bulk of the water from reaching them. He knew Tony and he would have no problem being surrounded by water for a small period of time, but Pepper had no protection from the elements unless he was able to teletransport the three of them out of the submarine before it flooded completely. "Get over here, already!"

Tony shifted his body so that he was flying backwards and face up, lying Pepper's body on his to avoid touching the water. He could hear, feel and see the sparks coming out of the liquid, and the last thing he wanted to do was transfer the electricity through his suit and into Pepper's body. When he finally made it to the end, he grabbed a hold of the Mandarin's left arm, and in the blink of an eye the three of them left the doomed submarine to fall to the depths of the South Pole.


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23  
**

Three seconds.

Three whole seconds.

That had been how long it had taken them to arrive at the bridge of the Helicarrier where Howard Stark was – Gene had focused on the old man – and the three of them had landed on the ground with a loud thud.

"Tony! Gene? What in the…Pepper!" Rhodey said and caught the attention of everyone present as he ran toward the aid of his fallen friends.

The Mandarin reverted to his regular form, leaving behind a Gene that was taking in deep breaths while lying on the floor on all fours. He looked up to stare at Tony as the scientist pulled himself up, also taking in deep breaths at the same time he shed the armor off himself and carried Pepper toward the medical unit closest to the bridge. His head was spinning due to the sudden change in pressure but he did not let his stumbling stop him from reaching the exit of the bridge.

"You found her! I can't believe you found her!" Loretta said behind Tony as she followed him, and was soon joined by everyone else.

"Gene found her," Tony clarified. "He's the one who found her."

"He's your psychic friend?" Loretta asked, recalling her conversation with the young scientist.

"Psychic?" Virgil asked as he looked back to stare at Gene standing up. "He looks normal."

"Long story," Rhodey said as he provided support to Tony to keep him steady and helped lay Pepper on the table. "Is she alive?"

"Barely," Tony said before all of them were pulled away from the table by the medical staff. "Wait, I want…" Tony began but was immediately silenced by the doctor in charge.

"We'll take it from here, Mr. Stark."

"But, Pepper…she…"

"If you want to help your girlfriend," the doctor said as he stared at the poor state of the redhead. "Let us do our job, and if you can, find out exactly what happened to her."

"Is she going to be alright?" The inventor asked, his eyes never leaving her weak-looking frame. "Is she going to make it?"

"We'll do everything we can," the doctor reassured him. "Now, please, step out, Mr. Stark."

Rhodey dragged Tony away from the table as they both stared at their friend. They were the last ones to exit the room and as soon as they were out, the doors were closed and locked. "Where did you find her?" Rhodey asked the question that was in everyone's mind. Nick Fury was already calling off the search while Loretta, Virgil and Roberta sat together in the chairs outside the medical unit Pepper was in. Howard walked up to Gene to check up on him, but as his pride would have it, the Mandarin was already up and about, and stated he did not need any help.

"South Pole," Tony finally responded when Gene walked up to him and stood to his left. "She was in a submarine that was about to hit the bottom of the ocean."

"A what?" Rhodey spat. "Are you joking?"

Tony shook his head, his eyes glued to the closed door. "She…she was trying to call for help, Rhodey. She was trying to build a device to call for help. She was using my designs."

"Well, between Pepper and me, it would be her who would understand your crazy drawings more than I would."

"I don't know how far she got, though. The machines were giving out more interference than sending out distress calls. I don't think I have any records of incoming calls to the temple."

"It doesn't matter now," Gene said. "We need to find out what Whitney did to her if we want to give Pepper a fighting chance."

"What makes you think Whitney is going to tell you what she did to her?" Roberta asked, who was still not privy to the powers of Gene and his Mandarin form. "She's not going to cooperate, even if you tell her Pepper has been rescued."

"Who said she had an option to cooperate?" Gene smirked at the woman for a moment before he and Tony ran out of the medical unit in the direction of Whitney's containment cell. For once, Tony Stark was grateful for Gene Khan's arrogant attitude.

xxxXXXxxx

Whitney was never given a chance. As soon as the two boys arrived to the cell and Tony input the override code to let themselves in, Gene made a beeline to Whitney's sitting form and pressed his left hand to her forehead. The girl squealed and tried to pull herself away from Gene's grip, but the Mandarin would have none of it. "What's your problem? Let go of me!"

"If you try to move I'll crush your skull, Whitney."

The brunette immediately stopped moving despite her taunts that she was not afraid to die. Truth was that she was certain that none of the people in the flying ship would truly hurt her, but she knew that Gene had no such reservations to ending someone's life.

"What are you doing?" She asked, trying her best to save face.

"Shut up," Gene responded and increased the pressure on her head.

"You're hurting me," she spat back.

"I don't care," He responded but his grip decreased a little when Tony laid his hand on his shoulder.

"I hate her too, Gene, but hurting her is not going to get us anywhere."

"People like her deserve no mercy, Stark."

"That's what I said about you," Tony began as he pulled his hand away from Gene. "But Pepper proved me wrong."

Gene narrowed his eyes at the inventor but said nothing else. This was exactly why he saw Tony as weakling; his feelings for Pepper were going to be his demise one day. Gene wanted to think that he held no such flaw, but deep inside he knew that while the feelings he harbored for the ginger were not of the same nature as the one's Tony had for her, the Great Gene Khan still had a soft spot for the talkative girl.

"Do you want your answers or not, Tony?"

"I do."

"Then stay back and be quiet."

Tony crossed his arms over his chest but gave Gene the space he needed. He was not entirely happy with the approach Gene was taking, but he also knew that right now they had no other option to find out the information they needed for the doctors to help Pepper recover.

When Gene realized Tony was no longer going to interfere with his efforts to uncover the truth about what had happened to the redhead, he closed his eyes in deep concentration, slowly inhaling and exhaling as he stood there. All ten rings of power began shining brightly, and before Tony understood what was happening, Whitney became paralyzed, and her eyes locked in their open position.

A myriad of images hit Gene's mind at top speed, and had it not been for his abilities, the memories would have not made sense to him. He saw Whitney preparing to execute her plan, including her tactic of dying her hair and using contact lenses to change the color of her eyes. He watched as she observed Pepper and Tony's every move, including their fight against the Makluan army. He was able to hear in his mind the rants she had about losing Tony to a riff raff, and how Pepper would never be enough for the strapping billionaire.

The second wave of images showed Pepper sitting by a terminal of an airport, staring at her left hand with sad eyes. It appeared that her palm had been burned but she was yet to bandage the injured piece of skin. He then saw the redhead stand up from her seat, wipe tears from her face and walk toward the bathroom. For some reason, he was able to follow the girl inside the facilities and watched her as she washed her face with cold water. A moment later when the restrooms became empty save for her and who he now realized was Whitney standing next to her by the sinks, he felt the thrill that the blonde had felt when she had stuck a needle in Pepper's neck.

_No!_ Gene thought as the images continued to roll in his mind.

Whitney dragged Pepper's limp body to a stall and locked them both inside. Knowing she would not need the mask to hide her face, Whitney took it out from her bag and placed it on Pepper, changing the redhead's form to one of a young, blonde girl. Gene was shocked by the power of the mask, as he had never imagined it could reduce someone's size that much, but he did not have time to think about the possible effects of such.

The third wave of memories showed Whitney exiting the stall with the little girl in her arms. She flung Pepper's luggage on her shoulder and she quietly and calmly exited the restrooms and walked all the way out through the front door of the airport.

The images that followed her escape showed Whitney torturing Pepper in unimaginable ways, including dunking her head inside a barrel filled with water, pinching Pepper's skin with a rusty nail, pulling her fingernails with a pair of pliers, and beating her up with a bar of soap wrapped inside a wet towel.

Tony heard Gene grunt as if he were in pain himself, making Tony wonder what exactly he was learning from Whitney. Gene's anger rose even more when he heard and watched as Pepper asked Whitney to stop, but she never did. Instead, she would increase her punishment of her, feeding rotten food to the redhead, and forcing her to drink contaminated water from rusted water containers that been exposed to the elements for far too long.

_Poor Pepper, how could she do this to you?_ Was the last thought that crossed Gene's mind before the final image of Whitney throwing Pepper's unconscious body inside the ship came to him. Madame Masque left behind a few expired comestibles for the redhead to eat – or starve with – and more buckets of the unhealthy water before sealing the exits of the underwater ship. The last image was of Whitney making sure the submarine sank to the depth it had been found today.

When the images went dark, Gene's eyes snapped open and Whitney inhaled loudly as if she had been holding her breath the entire time Gene had been raiding her mind. Tony was taken aback with the sudden return of the two teens, but was even more surprised when Gene's hand moved from her forehead down to her throat, lifted her up from the chair she had been tied to, snapping the shackles in the process, and carried her by her neck against the back wall.

Whitney's hands flew to Gene's crushing arm and hand. Her fingernails scrapped his skin but he did not flinch, and her legs flailed as she tried to kick him off her.

"Gene, stop!" Tony cried behind him, trying to pry the angry man off the scared girl.

"You wouldn't want me to stop if you saw what I did, Stark," Gene growled. "She deserves to be left behind in that ship she put Pepper in."

"No, Gene, that would serve no purpose. Pepper wouldn't want us to do that."

"And I wouldn't want Whitney to do more damage to Pepper than she's already done. Do you know what she did to her? Did she tell you everything she put her through?" Gene's grip on Whitney's neck tightened and the girl's face started to become flushed.

"Some of it, not all. And yes, it was horrible, but Pepper's back and all I care about now is getting her better. Whitney can rot in hell for all I care, but it's not my call whether she lives or dies."

Gene remained silent for a moment, staring directly at the crying girl, and Tony waited to see if he had gotten through to the boy. When Gene's grip softened enough for Whitney to take in a deep breathe, the inventor took a sigh of relief.

"You're right, Tony," Gene said in a low voice. "It is not _your _call."

"Gene, NO!"

Tony's response came too late, and before his eyes Gene's power expelled itself out of his body. The light traveled from Gene to Whitney and engulfed them both. The scientist was certain that Gene was going to teleport them to a different location where Tony would not be able to interfere with whatever Gene had planned for the former Madame Masque, but when after a few seconds of light Gene and Whitney remained there, Tony become even more concerned for Whitney's fate.

The light disappeared as quickly as it had formed, and Gene released Whitney's neck, not caring for an instant when her body hit the floor with a thud. Tony ran toward Whitney's limp body and frantically checked for a pulse.

"I didn't kill her, Stark," Gene defended himself. "Though I should have."

"What did you do to her?" Tony asked when he saw Whitney's pale face and her unblinking, open eyes. He then grabbed her left arm and lifted up, and when he released it the arm hit the floor as if Whitney had no control over it. "Gene, what did you do?"

"It's called The Void," Gene said as he headed to the door. "I'll let her out once she pays for what she's done…unless Pepper doesn't make it out alive."

"What do you mean 'The Void'?"

"You don't want to know what it is," Gene responded. "Let's go talk to the doctors so that they know what to treat Pepper for."

Tony's eyes shifted from Gene's retreating form to Whitney's. The girl was completely dazed, and other than some random twitches of her body, she was absolutely unaware of her surroundings. Part of him felt guilty for leaving her in this state, but part of him did not want to deal with her anymore. The second voice in him made him stand up from the floor and follow Gene, leaving the vegetative-acting Whitney to silently suffer the punishment Gene Khan had bestowed upon her.


	25. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Tony stared at the silent procession of people in front of him. The men, women and children that were gathered around the grave were all dressed in black as customary in these kinds of events. His eyes fell on the luxurious mahogany coffin, shining at its brightest before it became one with the six feet of dirt that would cover it for eternity and beyond. He had attended two of these ceremonies before, but it never made it easier on a person to be an expert in funerals and burials.

"It's rude to stare, you know?" James Rhodes whispered to his friend and sat next to him on the bench Tony was on. "I'm sure they want some privacy right now."

Tony's eyes remained on the inconsolable crying couple in front of them, their moans digging a hole in the scientist's heart and soul. "Who the hell thought it was a good idea to build a hospital next to a cemetery? What are they trying to say? _'If you come here and don't make it, you don't have to go far to die'?_ Or, _'Hey, we have 2x1 deal! Use our ambulances and browse our graveyard for the price of one ride! Supplies are limited?_'"

"That's really morbid, Tony."

"I'm not the one who built the fucking hospital next to the graveyard."

"I take it that you've heard, then?" Rhodey inquired, already being able to tell that the information he had brought to relay to Tony was already in the possession of the inventor.

"Gene told me," Tony shrugged. "It seems Whitney's gonna stay in The Void for a long ass time."

Rhodey nodded in agreement and they both remained silent for a few minutes as the ceremony before them began wrapping up. "It might be reversible, Tony. Did Gene tell you that?"

"Yeah," Tony responded. "He also _showed_ me what Whitney did to her and, you know what? He was right. I would've wanted to kill her, too." Tony's fists clenched in anger and Rhodey's eyes flew to the scientist's hands when he heard his knuckles pop with the force he was placing on his bones.

"So, what are you going to do now?"

"I'll help her recover what she lost. I'll help her get her life back."

"Do you think that's for the best? Don't you think she's better off not knowing how she ended up like this?"

"I don't know," Tony admitted as he watched the thinning crowd of the burial happening across the street. "But she deserves to remember how I feel about her, and that I'm sorry for what I did to her. She deserves to know she's not alone."

"Even if she decides not to be alone by being with someone else other than you?"

Tony's lips thinned with Rhodey's question. The inventor was not unaware that Pepper's life could take a different turn now, including falling in love with someone else. However, after what she had been put through, Tony had accepted that if she decided to see him as nothing more than just a friend for the rest of her new life, he was going to suck it up and help her go through with whatever she wanted to do about them.

"Don't mean I can't try, right?" Tony asked back.

"When are you going to start?" Rhodey queried when Tony stood up from the bench and stretched his arms above his head. "You haven't even seen her since she woke up."

"Right about now seems like a good time," Tony responded as he stared down at his watch.

"You only have five minutes left of visiting hours," Rhodey reminded him.

"That's all I need for now."

The boy waved goodbye to his friend and began his way to the hospital where Pepper was recovering from her injuries, all the while thinking about the irony that it was that Pepper had wanted to go back to the time she was unaware of many things, and she had gotten exactly what she had wished for…

…with the single negative caveat that she had forgotten it all.

**The End**

* * *

**A/N:** WUT? WUT? Who is up for a sequel? Because that is exactly what you're going to get! This story is just getting started; I still have a lot of ideas for this arc. HOWEVER, the sequel will be up AFTER I finish Broken and Kilómetros. Meanwhile, sign up for follows/alerts for my profile, and sit tight by reading Broken, which is the next story to be wrapped up. Thank you all for sticking around and I hope you loved it!


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